For Sport Resolutions (UK) to accept a referral it must have legal consent (jurisdiction) to resolve the dispute. For this to happen the parties to a dispute must give their consent in one of three ways:

1. The rules of the sporting organisation involved in the dispute allow for recourse to Sport Resolutions (UK) or the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel (SDRP).
2. The contract/agreement in dispute contains a clause referring disputes should they arise to Sport Resolutions (UK) / SDRP or;
3. The parties to the dispute agree in writing to submit the dispute to Sport Resolutions (UK) /SDRP for arbitration/mediation.