Satellite firms stop ads for illegal soccer games

Rogue satellite companies that offer live Premiership football are no longer advertising Saturday afternoon 'closed-period' games in their marketing to pubs.

Ray Hoskin, managing di- rector of Media Protection Services (MPS), which investigates illegal screenings, said around 20 satellite suppliers have stopped promoting closed-period matches.

This followed the first prosecution of a licensee this season for showing Premiership clashes between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays.

In November, Michael Waters, of the Black Horse in Kearsley, Bolton, was ordered to pay £1,400 in fines and costs after he was twice caught showing games in the closed period.

Football body UEFA has outlawed the screening of closed- period games because it wants to encourage people to attend stadiums.

But legal experts agree that screening games at other times using images beamed in from abroad is also against the law.

This is because Sky owns the copyright to all Premiership screenings in the UK.

'Similarly to the trade, illegal suppliers are realising the closed-period games are against the law,' added Hoskin.

'A lot of suppliers are now not advertising the closed-period games.

'But they are still misleading the industry by insisting they can screen games outside the closed period.'

Hoskin said around 40 licensees throughout the UK have been summoned to appear before magistrates for screening football matches outside Saturday afternoons.

He warned pubcos to ensure their tenants were not screening football illegally - because they risk the future of the pub itself.

Licensees prosecuted for showing illegal matches can lose not only their personal licence, but the pub's premises licence, Hoskins warned.

l A pub manager was fined £1,700 by magistrates in Leicester last week for showing football in his pub using a domestic Sky package.

Sat Singh, of the Melton Hotel in Melton Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to breaching copyright regulations.