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Mark O'Neill

@moneill94.bsky.social

150 followers 91 following 73 posts

Sports Law Academic, newly qualified lawyer, cricket tragic, often found playing football manager in whatever spare time I have

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Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · 16h

The end of an informative & impactful @playthegame-org.bsky.social conference here in Tampere.

It certainly made me think about issues that I hadn't really considered, the last session on illegal gambling raised some interesting questions for football & it's relationship with betting companies

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · 2d

A rather meaty subject to get stuck into on day 2 of @playthegame-org.bsky.social conference....

Does culture shape practice, or does practice shape culture?

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · 3d

Fascinating talk on sports washing by @julesboykoff.bsky.social at @playthegame-org.bsky.social

Challenged my traditional thinking on the topic!

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 27

Dodgy owners are hardly a modern day phenomenon either - the scandal at Bristol Rovers in 1950 when a greyhound racing company took control & tried to take control of the ground/land is an eerily familiar example of some undesirable modern day practice & loophole exploitation!
#football #sportslaw

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 27

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 27

one thing I've found since starting my PhD is that I love getting stuck into archive research, learning about the history, looking for the those hidden snippets that shaped the game

Looking at the history of club ownership in the minutes & board meetings of clubs in early/mid 1900s
#PhD #Research

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 11

While I understand your implied point, they may not officially be part of the same MCO, they are so closely related in that they are in all but name (i.e. commonality of ownership, player trading volumes between other MCO clubs)

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 11

Now that Eagle Football 2.0 is operational after the sale to Marinakis, it'll be interesting to see the approach UEFA takes to the relationship between NFFC & Lyon, seeing as they are effectively part of the same MCO & the clubs within that MCO group have been active in the transfer market too.

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 11

Blind trusts are an arrangement which is routinely open to abuse & relatively easy to sidestep, especially when the assets within them are known to the settlor) But someone selling their stake & walking away wasn't considered enough? This seems a bizarre & illogical application of the rules.

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 11

It's the selective enforcement of the MCO rules by UEFA that's the major issue here; other, more prestigious clubs, such as Manchester United and Manchester City, were allowed to compete in UEFA competition using blind trust arrangements because they complied with an arbitrary deadline

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 11

there is evidence to suggest that Textor had limited operational influence at Palace due to Steve Parrish holding the casting vote on the board.

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 11

The conflict involving Eagle Football's shares in Palace & Lyon had been dealt with & managed by the sale of the shares to Woody Johnson. There was little evidence they were operationally part of an MCO (i.e. sharing of player data, pooling of managerial/administrative resources, player trading)

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 11

This is a decision that really smacks of a literal approach (i.e. this is what the rules say & you must stick to them) to interpreting rules and regulations rather than a purposive one (interpreting them in a way to ensure they achieve the underlying purpose of them).

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Crystal Palace lose appeal against demotion from Europa League to Conference League

Crystal Palace are unsuccessful in their appeal against being demoted from the Europa League and will play in the Conference League this season.

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Aug 1

Absolutely - it's hard to come up with a cogent reason as to why he's doing this. If it's to squeeze a bit of extra money out of Panjab, then its extreme bad faith negotiating. Makes it look like Whittingham has read the Art of the Deal and uses that as his bible....

Martin Calladine @uglygame.bsky.social · Jul 31

None of which is to deflect attention from the villain here.

Morecambe has almost no players, can't host matches, isn't insured for training, has no money, hasn't paid its Vat and risks its still unpaid staff losing their homes.

Jason Whittingham is a man entirely without honour or decency.

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Jul 7

Anything on the incoming owners? I vaguely recall you writing a couple of pieces on them a few months ago?

Reposted by Mark O'Neill

Pads Pads Pads Cricket @padspadspads.bsky.social · Jul 1

"I think it's sensible they didn't pick Archer for this game, you don't want to rush him too soon." @moneill94.bsky.social

🏏 England vs India 2nd Test Preview ▶️ youtu.be/WDhZUSIv6MY

#ENGvIND

Reposted by Mark O'Neill

Pads Pads Pads Cricket @padspadspads.bsky.social · Jun 19

"Is Ollie Pope a long term number three? I'm not so sure he is. Longer term, Bethell will be that guy." @moneill94.bsky.social

Watch our England v India Test series preview here ▶️ youtu.be/hkptX9Y_hz0

#cricket #england #india

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Jun 9

My latest blogpost on the developing situation at #crystalpalace and their potential exclusion from UEFA competition.
- Explain the MCO rules
- What are the considerations with MCO arrangements
- How they could apply to Palace

#UEFA #Football #SportsLaw
sportlawmusings.com/post/crystal-p…

https://sportlawmusings.com/post/crystal-p…

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · May 28

Here for day 1 of the @fairgameuk.bsky.social conference at @afcwimbledon1889.bsky.social - looking forward to an exciting couple of days talking all things football and how to make the game fairer for the whole pyramid
#fgc25

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · May 23

Great to see Zimbabwe playing test cricket in England again. In many ways the result is irrelevant, what's more important is that Zim give a decent account of themselves & help the smaller test playing countries get more opportunities against the big teams #ENGvZIM

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Apr 15

Safe to say that this isn't one that anyone had on their 2025 bingo card - great news for Swansea fans though!

Does raise an interesting question as to whether current players should have the ability to invest in other clubs while they're still playing?
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Luka Modric: Ballon d’Or to boardroom – why has Real Madrid legend invested in Swansea City?

With Luka Modric investing in Swansea City, BBC Sport asks why? How did it happen? What will his role be? And what does it mean for the Welsh club?

Reposted by Mark O'Neill

Pads Pads Pads Cricket @padspadspads.bsky.social · Apr 3

"Jonny Bairstow has got a point to prove this year. But whether he can manage the demands of captaincy, the gloves and being one of the key batsman remains to be seen" @moneill94.bsky.social

🏏 Watch our 2025 County Championship preview here ➡️ youtu.be/i1EegpWdDMs #Bairstow

Reposted by Mark O'Neill

Jim Burke @barcajim3.bsky.social · Mar 4

This post reminded me of another good measure of what type of person you should have in your life

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Mar 2

stoptrump.org.uk/petition-can...

Petition: Cancel Trump’s state visit

Stop Trump Coalition

stoptrump.org.uk

Mark O'Neill @moneill94.bsky.social · Feb 27

No idea how much press coverage this got back in the day, but can you imagine the damage to club heritage and history this would've caused if it had been successful?