By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
A Judge at the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, in the City of London, on 2 June 2026, has fined UK Athletics (UKA) the sum of £350,000 (around €404,000) with costs of £44,000 (around €51,000) concerning the death of a paralympic shot-putter, after some equipment, namely, a metal cage, fell on top of him at a training ground in Newham, East London, as he prepared for the World Athletics Championships in 2017.
Judge Richard Marks KC described the death of 36-year-old Abdullah Hayayei, who was from the United Arab Emirates, as "tragic, untimely and wholly avoidable." He left a widow and five children.
The Judge also imposed a 175-hour community service order upon the former Head of Sport at UKA, Keith Davies, who is 79 years old, after hearing that he was in charge of the equipment, which had been assembled with vital base plates missing.
UKA had pleaded guilty to a charge of corporate manslaughter at an earlier hearing in February of this year, and Davies had pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety law at the same hearing.
A meticulous investigation by the Police and the legal process, following the death of the shot-putter, has taken almost 10 years to complete.
The Judge stated that the shot-putter's death was an accident which, sooner or later, was "waiting to happen".
Noting that UKA had a turnover of £13.8 million (around €15.9 million) in 2025 with a projected loss of £400,000 (around €462,000), he granted UKA six years in which to pay the fine by instalments.
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