UK Athletics fined £350,000 for corporate manslaughter over 2017 death of Emirati para-athlete Abdullah Hayayei
The United Kingdom Athletics has been fined $350,000 after the national sport body was found guilty of corporate manslaughter over the death of an Emirati para-athlete Abdullah Hayayei during a training session at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London.
According to the Metropolitan Police, investigation concluded that Mr Hayayei, representing the United Arab Emirates, was training at the Newham Leisure Centre in Prince Regent Lane E13 on 11 July 2017 when the throwing cage he was practising in collapsed and struck his head.
Police and other emergency services were called to the scene but couldn’t save the victim’s life. The Metropolitan Police subsequently launched an investigation into the death of the 36-year-old.
Following years of investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service, in January 2025, sanctioned charges of corporate manslaughter against UK Athletics and gross negligence manslaughter against the former head of the body Keith Davies.
They were also charged with Health and Safety at Work Act offences.
Police also noted during their probe that over 1,500 documents were reviewed, 160 witness statements collected, 80 witnesses interviewed and reports on different topics ranging from corporate governance to the design of the throwing cage that fatally-injured the victim were collated.
During a sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey on Tuesday after the organisation pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter in February, the presiding judge fined the UK Athletics Limited the sum of £350,000 and costs.
Additionally, Mr Davies, 79, who pleaded guilty to Health and Safety at Work Act offences, was sentenced to a community order with 175 hours of unpaid work.
“Abdullah was not just a person who passed away. He was a father and a husband with responsibilities, dreams and a future. He was always thinking about his children’s future, his ambition as an athlete and representing the United Arab Emirates.
“What happened was not just a simple mistake but the result of gross negligence that could have been avoided had the required safety procedures been adhered to. Abdullah went out to represent his country and raise the name of the UAE, but he died because of this negligence,” Mr Hayayei’s family said after the verdict.
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