UK Athletics has been fined £350,000 for the death of Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei, who was killed when a throwing cage collapsed on him during a training session in east London in July 2017. The 36-year-old father of five was preparing to represent the United Arab Emirates at the World Para Athletics Championships when the 440lb structure toppled over at Newham Leisure Centre.
The Old Bailey heard that the 5m-high cage had been set up incorrectly without its base plate, a fault that prosecutors described as an 'accident waiting to happen'. UK Athletics pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter and was ordered to pay £350,000 plus £44,000 in costs over six years. Keith Davies, 79, who was head of sport for the 2017 championships, admitted a health and safety offence and received a community order requiring 175 hours of unpaid work.
Sentencing, Judge Richard Marks KC said Hayayei's death was 'tragic, untimely and wholly avoidable', noting a long-running pattern of unsafe practice with the equipment. The court was told that in the five years after UK Athletics acquired two identical cages from the London 2012 Olympics, they had never been properly assembled with base plates. One cage had previously collapsed in 2012 without causing injury.
Prosecutor John Price KC said many athletes had used the cages over years, calling them a 'perennial hazard'. On the day of the incident, Hayayei was training under supervision when the structure collapsed, trapping him in netting. Despite efforts from coaches and medics, he was pronounced dead that afternoon. His widow Badriah, giving evidence from the UAE, said her husband 'returned as a corpse because of this negligence'.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police said the investigation revealed years of failures in equipment storage and assembly. Det Ch Insp Lucie Card called Hayayei a 'talented athlete whose life was cruelly cut short'. UK Athletics issued an apology, stating it had made 'substantial changes' to safety and governance procedures, and said: 'The failings identified in this case should never have happened.'
