RESULTS OF THE YEAR 2025
Dear colleagues, clients and partners, dear friends,
We are pleased to reflect on the results of 2025 – a year marked by notable successes, important achievements and the dynamic growth of our firm.
Over the course of the year, we successfully completed dozens of projects, many of which involved representing clients in international disputes before FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
We would particularly like to highlight our success in the appeal brought by the Russian Table Tennis Federation (RTTF) before CAS concerning the ban on the participation of Russian athletes in international table tennis competitions. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the decision of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from all competitions violated the principles of political neutrality and non-discrimination enshrined both in the ETTU Constitution and in the Olympic Charter.
This decision became the first of its kind in which arbitrators ruled in favor of Russian athletes.
As always, the lawyers of SILA were involved in high-profile football player transfers and provided legal support for key coaching appointments in football.
In 2025, the lawyers of SILA International Lawyers were actively involved in the work of international sports federations.
Mikhail Prokopets, Partner of the Moscow office, spoke at the FIDE General Assembly as a representative of the Russian Chess Federation on the issue of the possible admission of Russian chess players to FIDE team competitions.
Yury Yakhno acted as organizer and moderator of the extraordinary General Assembly of the International Backgammon Federation (IBF), at which a new President of the Federation was elected.
SILA International Lawyers was once again recognized in the rankings of Pravo.ru-300 and RG.RU.
Partners of the Moscow office, Mikhail Prokopets and Yury Zaytsev, rose five positions in the ranking of the “30 Most Influential People in Russian Football” published by Sport-Express.
As in previous years, we paid great attention to educational projects in 2025. Partner Mikhail Prokopets delivered lectures within the master’s program of the ITTI Sports Institute, created jointly with the International Association of Football Lawyers.
Managing Partner and CEO Yury Zaytsev spoke as a lecturer within a series of educational events at the Akron–Konoplev Academy, addressing football players on legal literacy, the specifics of transfers, anti-doping rules, and contracts.
Ilya Chicherov delivered a lecture at the Russian Football Union Academy within the “Football Management” program.
Partner of the Bulgarian office Georgi Gradev was once again invited as a guest speaker to the leading Spanish university ISDE, took part in the AIAF Congress in Miami, and chaired the jury of the final round of a football law competition in Nigeria. Partners Yury Zaytsev, Mikhail Prokopets and Ivan Bykovsky participated in the 5th ISDE Sports Congress held in Madrid.
Our lawyers also shared their expertise with students of HSE University, MGIMO, and Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL). In addition, the firm acted as a partner of the “International Sports Arbitration” section at the Congress on International Private Law, organized by Kutafin Moscow State Law University.
As part of our support for youth sports, SILA International Lawyers sponsored two Dia-Gram Awards in the categories of Best Defender and Best Youth Coach. Supporting those who shape the future of football is of particular importance to our firm.
In 2025, we launched a new podcast, “SILA of our football”, where we discussed Russian Championship matches through the lens of legal developments. The podcast was hosted by our experts Yury Zaytsev, Ilya Chicherov, Yury Yakhno and Vladislav Chepelev.
We also continue to expand our presence in motorsport. In January, SILA Motorsport Solutions was established, providing legal, management and agent services to drivers and teams.
Clients of SILA Motorsport Solutions achieved outstanding results, including the Russian Endurance Racing Cup in the GT4 class, won by our friends from YADRO Motorsport in a dramatic season finale, as well as vice-championship in the GT World Challenge Europe (Bronze Cup) and the title of Overall Driver Champion 2024/2025 in the internal standings of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, achieved by Rinat Salikhov.
SILA International Lawyers expresses its sincere gratitude to its clients and partners for their trust and long-standing cooperation, as well as to every member of our team – for professionalism, dedication and outstanding results.
May the coming 2026 be a year of new victories, exciting projects and bold achievements for all of us.
We wish you and your loved ones good health, boundless energy, prosperity, and harmony. May every day bring joy from your work, inspiration for new ideas, and confidence in the future. Together, we can achieve even more!
Happy New Year! ✨🎊