ABSTRACT
This chapter will examine the law that applies when players inflict injury upon each other whilst playing in a football match (for coverage of this area of the law as it applies to all sports, see Gardiner et al, 1998). There are no specific ‘sports laws’ that cover this area. The general law of the land applies to any such incidents. The laws apply whether the game in question is a Sunday league park game or the World Cup Final. All that is required for the law to operate is a non-consensual touching of the opponent. The more serious the injury caused, the more serious the punishment or the higher the award of damages. In this chapter, the main criminal law, compensatory law and some new legal developments with potentially far reaching consequences will be examined. It commences with a theoretical perspective.
