UK Athletics is facing severe l*gal repercussions now over the death of Emirati Paralympian thrower Abdullah Hayayei that took place back in 2017. A mishap during a training session had left the Paralympian athlete facing an unforeseen, morbid end, as the 36-year-old emerging player and father of five left the entire sports industry in shock. After seven long years, the association, seemingly liable for the incident, is now finding itself at the receiving end of fate.

Charged for a major case of manslaughter and gross negligence in the wake of the Paralympian’s death, UK Athletics is treading deep waters, but that’s not all. The incident has also left them facing charges of a health and safety offence. An update on the incident was provided by the police, holding the involved parties accountable for the unfortunate situation.

As per the announcement made on Wednesday 8, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Special Crime Division, Malcolm McHaffie, gave a new lead on the investigation conducted, holding UK Athletics and the 2017 World Championships’ head of sport accountable. “Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised criminal charges against UK Athletics Limited and a 77-year-old man following the death of United Arab Emirates Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei.”

UK Athletics’ former championship head of sport has also been reported to be facing the consequences of Abdullah’s accidental passing. According to Athletics Weekly, his charges, as stated by the CPS personnel, read, “The former head of sport at UK Athletics Ltd, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and a Health and Safety at Work Act offence.”

The mishap took place when part of a metal cage fell on his head during a training session for the shot put event at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships. Due to the reported negligence of the authorities, he tragically lost his life, unable to fulfil his lifelong wish of emerging in his career far enough to participate in the London World Para Athletics Championship event, which was held a mere 3 days after his date of passing on July 11.

Abdullah Hayayei’s journey from a promising career to l*gal reckoning

Despite a short life, the Paralympian carried notable achievements of his professional career as a United Arab Emirates thrower. The 2015 World Championship held in Doha gave Abdullah an impressive finish, coming fifth in the discus and eighth in the shot put throw. Followed by the event, the next season saw his participation in the 2016 Rio Olympics as his first Paralympic debut. Taking forward his prominence, the Emirati athlete ended up with a sixth-place finish in the javelin F34 and a seventh-place finish in the shot put F34 throw.

Coming off with such impressive feats, Abdullah entered the next season with the same hope of exuding excellence. He was set to participate in the 2017 London World Para Athletics Championships slated to begin on Friday, July 14, and he started off with his training session to compete in the F34 discus, javelin, and shot put categories. It was that fateful Tuesday of the same week when the paralympian was practicing for the shot put event at the Newham Leisure Centre in east London where the accident took place. Medical response was swift, but the injury caused irreparable harm, leading to the athlete leaving his last breath within a span of 20 minutes.

The aftereffects of the reported negligence by UK Athletics have been coming off pretty hefty per recent reports. The Crown Prosecution Service’s investigation that entailed the incident ended up with them collecting evidence, all of which pointed toward the governing body. With the l*gal case made, both the accused are now set to appear at the Westminster magistrates’ court scheduled on 31 January.

While a maximum life sentence could be expected for Davies, UK Athletics could be imposed with a major sum of fine. Grosvenor Law’s Andrew Gilmore reportedly stated that the total sum of the fine will be “dependent upon their turnover, which could be as much as £20m,” added to a “possible maximum life sentence with a tariff of up to 18 years.” The news coming to light after UK Athletics’ recent decision to turn down the chance of sponsoring a major track and field event like Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track due to a ‘financial crisis’ already shows that the new year didn’t start off on the right foot for the organization at all. Will justice be finally served after seven years? Keep a tab on this space to find out more.