UK Athletics hit with $650k fine over Paralympian’s death
UK Athletics was fined over $656,364 (£350,000) over the death of Abdullah Hayayei, who was killed in 2017 while the Paralympic athlete was training in London.
Hayayei, from the United Arab Emirates, was preparing for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships at the Newham Leisure Centre when a metal throwing cage fell on him.
Abdullah Hayayei during the IPC Athletics World Championships in 2015. Supplied
The 36-year-old athlete — who had made his debut in the javelin and shot put at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro — was pronounced dead at the scene.
A police and health and safety investigation found that the stabilising metal lattice baseplates of the discus cage were missing.
UK Athletics pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter in February and was issued with the fine and told to pay court costs.
The head of sport for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships Keith Davies, 78, also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act. He was sentenced to a community order with 175 hours of unpaid work.
“There can be no doubt that UK Athletics were grossly negligent in their safety management, which caused the death of a talented athlete,” Colin Gibbs from Britain Crown Prosecution Service said.
“They left equipment in a seriously unsafe condition, and Mr Hayayei’s death was wholly avoidable.”
Earlier in the week, Mr Hayayei’s widow, Badriah, gave a victim impact statement via video-link from the UAE.
She described the impact on her and her five children, who were aged between two and 14 when they lost their father.
“It was a huge shock to me because I was waiting for news of his victory and success in the championships and suddenly the news of his death reached me.
“At first I could not comprehend what happened and refused to believe the news.”
She said she had suffered “greatly” both psychologically and financially from losing her husband.
“I was pained even more when I found out what had happened could have been avoided if safety procedures had been properly applied.
“I hope the court looks at the magnitude of the harm to our family because Abdullah was not just a person who passed away. He was a father, a husband with responsibilities, dreams and a future.
“I hope the court takes a just stance against everyone who caused this because what happened was not just a simple mistake but the result of negligence, gross negligence, that could have been avoided if safety procedures adhered to.
“My husband went out to represent his country and raise the name of the UAE but he returned as a corpse because of this negligence.”
UK Athletics said it was deeply, and genuinely sorry for what had occurred.
“The failings identified in this case should never have happened,” the organisation said in a statement. “While nothing can undo what happened, there has been a determined focus on learning from these events and ensuring stronger standards and safeguards are in place throughout athletics.”
