LANDMARK JUDGMENTS - The Football Association v. Jake Livermore

On 22 July 2015, the Football Association (FA) charged Jake Livermore with breach of Regulation 3 of the FA Anti-Doping Regulations (Regulations). Jake Livermore was a first-team player of Hull City FC. It was alleged by the FA that the player provided a urine sample during an in-competition test on 25 April 2015 and the sample tested positive for cocaine. Cocaine is prohibited substance under Section 6(a) of Schedule 3 of the Regulations. The FA notified the player in a letter dated 13 May 2015 and provisionally suspended him from all matches until the charge against him was determined. The player admitted the anti-doping rule violation and as a result of the admission, the Regulatory Commission called a hearing with the aim of sanctioning the player. 

During the hearing it was disclosed that Mr Livermore had been in a long-term relationship with his partner since 2009 and in 2013 Mr Livermore’s partner fell pregnant with their first child. Mr Livermore’s partner was admitted to hospital to give birth on 18 May 2014. There had been no complication with pregnancy and the health care staff assured her that everything was well. Everything appeared to be set for a normal birth but in the event and following a long labour the child was delivered by caesarean section. Tragically, the baby did not survive and the coroner’s report shows the baby died at 01:37 am on 19 May. 

Mr Livermore, his partner and their families were totally devastated by the death of the child and the Regulatory Commission read statements on the impacts of the death the circumstances leading up to it and how it could have been avoided. At the hearing, the oral evidence was given by Mr Livermore and Dr Hopley, an experienced consultant and forensic psychiatrist who were both cross-examined by the FA on the degree of impairment faced by the player as result of the death and leading up to the anti-doping rule violation. Further evidence was provided in form of witness statements by Mr Livermore’s partner, Kelvin Livermore the player’s father, Steven Bruce the manager of Hull City at the time, Robert Price physiotherapist at Hull FC, Dr Mark Waller the club doctor at Hull FC and Tom Huddlestone player at Hull FC. The evidence of these witnesses, who were not called, was accepted by the FA, save where it referred to opinion or hearsay. 

Evidence on the impact of the child’s death on Mr Livermore’s mental health was also submitted to the Commission; however, due to the sensitive nature of such information, it was redacted and is not public knowledge. In light of such information, the Commission considered given the circumstances of Mr Livermore, if concepts such as fault and appropriateness were suitable. It was established that there was no intention on the part of Mr Livermore to enhance his performance as athlete and Mr Livermore had been tested on ten previous occasions and all test returned negative. This was a once-off incident in respect to the use of cocaine and the player had never used recreational drugs previously and the anti-doping rule violation only happened as result of severe impairment of the player’s cognitive functions and judgment caused by the loss of the player’s child. The Commission found that there was no fault or negligence on Mr Livermore’s part and he faced no suspension or sanction.

Written by

Abdulrahman Othman

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