THIS SPORTING LIFE

"Sport, of course, is all about the glory of winning and (if you are British) the nobility of defeat. Oh no it's not. It's all about the money. Which is why, Max Duthie, of Bird & Bird, says: "In almost every major sport today there are tensions between the regulatory bodies on the one side and the players or the teams on the other - and normally the argument is over money." Certainly in the three sports stories that are dominating this week - the Formula One punch-up, the Wimbleton showdown and the Sentana knock-out - the lawyers have all been poised, on the bench, waiting to make their entrance when required. Patrick Wheeler, of Collyer Bristow, says that there are four key areas of law that come into play in a sports dispute: intellectual property, contract, competition and regulation. All four are pertinent in the Formula One controversy." (Times, 25 June) RD