(1) Queens Park Rangers Football and Athletic Club Ltd (2) Mr J Yemms (3) Crawley Town Football and Social Club Ltd

Case Summary

This Employment Appeal Tribunal case concerns an application for disclosure of documents from an FA investigation into allegations of discriminatory conduct by a coach. The appellant, a professional footballer, alleged race discrimination and harassment during his loan period with Crawley Town. The key issue on appeal was whether the tribunal Employment Judge erred in refusing to order disclosure of the FA investigation bundle from the second respondent (the coach), on the grounds that the application should have been against the FA as a non-party.

• •whether disclosure of FA investigation documents should be ordered against a party to the proceedings
• •the proper test for disclosure in employment tribunal proceedings
• •whether CPR 31.22 collateral use restrictions apply to tribunal disclosure
• •the distinction between disclosure (stating a document exists) and inspection/providing copies
• •the relevance and necessity of witness statements from the FA investigation for use in tribunal proceedings

Judgment approved by the court Mr Bansal-McNulty v QPR Football and Athletic Club and Ors © EAT 2025 Page 1 [2025] EAT 120 Neutral Citation Number: [2025] EAT 120 Case No: EA-2024-000993-RS EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL Rolls Building Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL Date: 31 July 2025 Before: HER HONOUR JUDGE TUCKER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Between: MR A BANSAL-MCNULTY Appellant - and – (1) QUEENS PARK RANGERS FOOTBALL AND ATHLETIC CLUB LIMITED (2) MR J YEMMS (3) CRAWLEY TOWN FOOTBALL AND SOCIAL CLUB LIMITED Respondents - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mr Andrew Buchan (instructed by Simon Muirhead Burton LLP) for the Appellant Mr Anthony Johnston for the 2 nd Respondent No appearance or representation for the 1 st & 3 rd Respondents Hearing date: 31 July 2025 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JUDGMENT Judgment approved by the court Mr Bansal-McNulty v QPR Football and Athletic Club and Ors © EAT 2025 Page 2 [2025] EAT 120 SUMMARY Practice and Procedure This appeal concerns an application for disclosure. The Appellant was a professional football player who, with others, gave evidence to the FA regarding the asserted discriminatory behaviour of a coach (the Second Respondent) whilst he was contracted to play for the Third Respondent by the First Respondent. A hearing took place before an FA Tribunal and allegations of misconduct were upheld. Whilst the Appellant gave evidence to the FA, he was not provided with a copy of the bundle of documents prepared for that hearing. He subsequently contacted the FA to obtain a copy of that bundle for use in the proceedings before the Employment Tribunal. The FA resisted disclosure, not least because they informed the Appellant that the Second Respondent had a copy of the bundle and that the application for disclosure should be against …