A judge at the Old Bailey has fined UK Athletics £350,000 with £44,000 in costs after hearing how a paralympic athlete died when equipment fell on him at a training ground in east London.
Shot-putter Abdullah Hayayei was killed when a metal cage collapsed as he prepared for the World Para-athletics Championships in 2017.
He had previously represented the United Arab Emirates at the Rio Paralympics when he competed in the javelin and shot put.
Judge Richard Marks KC described Mr Hayayei’s death as “tragic, untimely and wholly avoidable.”
He also handed UKA’s former head of sport, 79-year-old Keith Davies, a 175-hour community service order after hearing how he was in charge of the equipment, which had been assembled with vital base plates missing.
The court heard how a strong gust of wind had collapsed the cage and Mr Hayayei had died of head injuries after being hit by a heavy metal bar.
The athlete was a 36-year-old wheelchair user who lived with cerebral palsy.
The court heard from his widow Badriah, who said his death had left her coping alone with five young children.
UK Athletics had pleaded guilty to a charge of corporate manslaughter at an earlier hearing in February. Mr Davies pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety law at the same hearing.
The investigation and legal process following Mr Hayayei’s death has taken nearly a decade to complete.
Police said their investigation had involved years of meticulous work by detectives which uncovered photos from around a dozen athletics events where the same cage had been used by the UK Athletics officials. They showed the restraints were not being used to secure the equipment.
Sentencing, Judge Marks said Mr Hayayei’s death was an accident which sooner or later was “waiting to happen”.
Earlier in the hearing, Prosecutor John Price KC told the court that in the years following the incident, UKA attempted to blame the athlete’s death on Mr Davies, and even “tried to point the finger” at the Newham venue.
He described a statement later submitted by UKA as “a deeply unworthy document by a national sporting body and one of which it should be ashamed”.
Fining UKA, the judge agreed that it had been “most unattractive” but it was “a stance” that was adopted by their previous team of managers.
It had been disavowed by the current leaders of the organisation who had expressed “sincere regret”.
UKA, he said, is essentially “a club of passionate members” and was aimed at developing elite athletes and sport at a grassroots level.
He noted that the organisation had a turnover of £13.8m in 2025 with a projected loss of £400,000. He granted UKA six years to pay the fine in instalments.
In a statement, UK Athletics said it was “deeply sorry” and that “substantial changes” have been made around safety and governance.
“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,” UK Athletics said.
“We respectfully accept the court’s decision today and remain committed to continuing that work with the seriousness and responsibility this case demands.”
