Esports Integrity Coalition disciplinary panel forms

Several sports executives have formed part of the Esports Integrity Coalition’s (ESIC) Disciplinary Panel, which is now operational.
The panel will carry out independent enquiries, investigations and rulings on esports matters brought to its attention. These could include cheating, doping and match manipulation cases.
The new panel includes two UK executives – chair Kevin Carpenter from Captivate Legal and Sports Solutions, and sports associate Richard Bush from Bird & Bird.
The full panel is as follows:

• Kevin Carpenter (Chair) – Principal & Consultant, Captivate Legal & Sports Solutions, UK
• Alfonso León – Sports Lawyer, Ruiz-Huerta & Crespo, Spain
• Anna Baumann – eSports Lawyer, Independent, Germany
• Daniel Schulte – Vice-Director, ESL (Electronic Sports League) League Operations, Germany
• James Kitching – Head of Sports Legal Services, Disciplinary, and Governance, Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Malaysia
• Lilia Russo – Director of Strategy and Engagement, IMG eSports, USA
• Pedro Fida – Partner (Sports Law), Bichara e Motta Advogados, Brazil
• Richard Bush – Associate (Sports), Bird & Bird, UK

Integrity Commissioner Ian Smith said: “It was very important that the panel was independent of ESIC and me and that I could not influence their appointments or their conduct once operational.
“This means participants who appear before them can be confident of a fair hearing without conflicts of interest or bias towards the prosecutor. This is key to one of ESIC’s core principles – adherence to principles of natural justice.”
The ESL Premiership adheres to ESIC’s code of ethics and ESL UK could even be drug testing players in the future.
More details on the ESIC panel can be found on the ESIC website.