About
Rhodri has extensive experience in litigation, arbitration and contentious regulatory matters, especially in the sport and data sectors.
Rhodri heads Freshfields’ sports disputes practice. He advises a large number of national and international sports governing bodies, teams and individual athletes, and has sat as an arbitrator in more than 100 sports arbitrations. He has a masters degree in sports law.
Rhodri also specialises in cybersecurity and data privacy, acting in both litigation and regulatory proceedings following data related incidents.
Rhodri joined the firm in 2005 and has worked in our London, Tokyo and Hong Kong offices.
Additional Information
- Appearing before various sports tribunals such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Independent Appeal Committee of World Rugby, FA Premier League Rule X Tribunals, FA Rule K Tribunals, the UEFA CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber, and the Union Cycliste Internationale Arbitral Tribunal.
- Acting for Manchester City Football Club in arbitration proceedings against the FA Premier League regarding the validity of Premier League Rules.
- Acting for various FA Premier League football clubs in litigation, arbitration and investigatory proceedings.
- Acting for Manchester City Football Club in overturning a Champions League ban imposed by UEFA for alleged breaches of financial fair play regulations.
- Advising the owners of Newcastle United Football Club regarding various issues, including acting in High Court proceedings.
- Advising a FIFA World Cup organising committee in relation to corruption allegations surrounding the FIFA World Cup.
- Advising the International Association of Athletics Federations in relation to a forensic review of its governance, operations and finance.
- Advising a multinational corporation regarding one of the world's largest data breaches, involving regulatory investigations in 30 jurisdictions and collective action litigation in three countries.
- Advising dozens of organisations in relation to data breaches, DDOS attacks, ransomware attacks and state-sponsored cyber-attacks.
Rhodri Thomas
Partner
T +44 20 7936 4000
london Office
100 Bishopsgate
EC2P 2SR london