UK Athletics Pleads Guilty to Corporate Manslaughter Over Death of Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei
UK Athletics has pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter over the death of Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei, nearly nine years after he was killed during a training session in London.
Hayayei, 36, was preparing to compete at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships when part of a throwing cage collapsed at Newham Leisure Centre in east London on 11th July 2017. The United Arab Emirates athlete was struck and died at the scene despite efforts by emergency services.
The charge stated that the governing body caused his death by “supplying for use... a discus/shot put cage which it used and operated without its base structure and which collapsed” while he was training.
At the Old Bailey on Friday, the organisation admitted corporate manslaughter, reversing an earlier not guilty plea entered in March 2025. Its former head of sport, Keith Davies, 78, also pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence, having previously denied gross negligence manslaughter. He remains on bail and will work with the Probation Service ahead of sentencing.
In a statement, UK Athletics said it "deeply regrets" the incident, adding: "Our deepest thoughts and sympathy remain with his family, friends, teammates and all those affected by the events of that day. As you will appreciate, due to the ongoing court proceedings, UK Athletics is unable to comment any further at this time."
Prosecutor Karen Robinson asked the court to schedule a two-day sentencing hearing in early June. She confirmed there would be no trial and that any remaining matters would be addressed at sentencing.
Colin Gibbs of the Crown Prosecution Service said Hayayei "was a father-of-five who should have been able to compete on the world stage and return home safely to his family". "There can be no doubt that UK Athletics were grossly negligent in their safety management, which caused the death of a talented athlete," he said.
"They left equipment in a seriously unsafe condition, and Mr Hayayei's death was wholly avoidable - a fact the organisation has admitted. For years there was a failure to inspect, maintain and properly manage basic safety components, leaving a heavy metal structure dangerously unstable."
The Metropolitan Police described the case as complex, saying detectives reviewed more than 1,500 documents, gathered around 160 statements and spoke to over 80 witnesses, supported by specialist engineering analysis to piece together what happened.
Hayayei, a father of five, had represented the UAE at the Rio 2016 Paralympics and was due to compete in the F34 shot put, discus and javelin in London. A moment of silence was later held in his honour at the championships’ opening ceremony.
Sentencing will take place at the Old Bailey on a date yet to be confirmed.
