UK Athletics was fined £350,000 with an additional £44,000 in costs at the Old Bailey on June 2 for corporate manslaughter related to the 2017 death of Paralympic athlete Abdullah Hayayei [1, 2, 3].
Hayayei, 36, was killed when a 440lb metal throwing cage collapsed on him during training at Newham Leisure Centre in east London in July 2017. He was preparing to represent the United Arab Emirates at the World Para Athletics Championships [1, 2, 3].
The cage fell because it had been improperly assembled and was missing its stabilising base plates. These equipment faults had persisted for at least five years, including a prior collapse in 2012 that caused no injury. Hayayei became trapped in the netting on the day of the accident and was pronounced dead later that afternoon [1, 2, 3].
UK Athletics pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter in February 2026. Keith Davies, then 78 or 79 years old and Head of Sport at UK Athletics for the 2017 Championships, received a community order requiring 175 hours of unpaid work after being convicted of a health and safety offence [1, 2, 3].
Judge Richard Marks KC called Hayayei’s death "tragic, untimely and wholly avoidable". He said the failings were not a "one-off" but part of a long-running pattern of unsafe practice around the equipment [1, 2].
Badriah Hayayei, the athlete’s widow, said, "He was a father, a husband with responsibilities, dreams and a future" [2]. Colin Gibbs of the Crown Prosecution Service said, "There can be no doubt that UK Athletics were grossly negligent in their safety management, which caused the death of a talented athlete. They left equipment in a seriously unsafe condition, and Mr Hayayei’s death was wholly avoidable" [3].
UK Athletics issued an apology and said it has since focused on learning from the incident and improving safety standards [3].
