UK Athletics: British sporting board pleads guilty to corporate manslaughter after death of Abdullah Hayayei
UK Athletics pleads guilty to corporate manslaughter of Abdullah Hayayei; Sporting board changes plea after having previously denied the charge; Former head of sport Keith Davies is on provisional bail
Last Updated: 20/02/26 1:04pm
UK Athletics has pleaded guilty to the corporate manslaughter of a Paralympian who was hit on the head by a metal pole during training.
Abdullah Hayayei, 36, who represented the United Arab Emirates, was fatally injured at Newham Leisure Centre in east London on July 11 2017.
He was preparing to represent his country in the F34 class discus, javelin and shot put at the World Para Athletics Championships in London when part of a throwing cage fell on him.
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On Friday, UK Athletics Ltd admitted corporate manslaughter, having previously denied the charge.
The charge said the national governing body for athletics caused the death of Mr Hayayei by "supplying for use... a discus/shot put cage which it used and operated without its base structure and which collapsed" into the Paralympian while he was practising shot putting
UK Athletics had previously denied a lesser alternative health and safety offence.
Keith Davies, 78, who was head of sport for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships, had denied gross negligence manslaughter.
On Friday, Davies, of Leytonstone, pleaded guilty to a health and safety charge.
The fresh pleas were entered on Friday at an Old Bailey hearing before Judge Mark Lucraft KC.
Prosecutor Karen Robinson invited the court to set a two-day sentencing hearing in early June.
She confirmed the prosecution would not seek a trial and the outstanding charges would be dealt with at the conclusion of the sentencing.
Davies was granted continued bail on the condition he liaise with the probation service for a pre-sentence report.
