UK Athletics Ltd has been fined £350,000 ($471,000) over the “wholly avoidable” death of a Paralympian killed when a practice cage collapsed on his head.
Father-of-five Abdullah Hayayei, 36, was preparing to represent the United Arab Emirates at the World Athletics Championships in London when the 440 pounds metal structure fell on him at Newham Leisure Centre in east London on July 11, 2017.
The cage toppled over because it was put up incorrectly and without its base plate, in an “accident waiting to happen”.
UK Athletics Ltd pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and on Tuesday was fined £350,000 plus £44,000 costs, to be paid over six years.
Keith Davies, 79, who was head of sport for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships, admitted a health and safety charge and was handed a community order of 175 hours of unpaid work.
Sentencing, Judge Richard Marks KC said the death of Mr Hayayei was “tragic, untimely and wholly avoidable”.
The judge noted failings by UK Athletics were not a “one off” but said any financial penalty would “weaken” its ability to support individual athletes and athletics in the community.
He told retired PE teacher Davies that he knew, or ought to have known, base plates were an “integral part” of the cage construction.
Following an earlier collapse of an identical cage, he was “on notice”, and the judge said: “This was an accident which sooner or later was waiting to happen.”
Previously, Hayayei’s widow, Badriah, who attended court by videolink from the UAE, described the impact his death has had on herself and her five children, who were aged between two and 14 when they lost their father.
“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.”