Tony Holman: 'Foreign satellite window has closed'

In my younger days I was a main player in the building of our country's nuclear deterrent (Trident) and I was reasonably well known throughout the hallowed halls of the MOD.

I would like to think this fame was due to my intellect, debating skills and wit but in reality and being a keen fan of the Sex Pistols it was probably more likely to be my 18 inch green Mohican hair style intermingled in a sea of grey suits.

One day whilst on walkabout the Conservative Minister of Defence at the time put his hand on my shoulder and said. "You know what son. If you are not a communist at 20 you have got no heart, and if your still a communist at 30 you've got no brain" and you know what? He was right on both counts.

The moral of this little story is that if you did not have an EU scoured foreign satellite system for the 2009-2010 season then you had no heart and if you still have one for the 2010-2011 season then you have no brain, and here's why.

Life is full of opportunity and regret and when the high courts in London referred the FAPL Vs Foreign Satellite dealer's and users to Europe then this opened up a window of real opportunity for those of us with a heart.

When the Premier League V foreign satellite dealers and users court case was sent to Europe in 2008 it opened up a window of real opportunity.

In this window, in my opinion, it would be impossible to prosecute anyone using a European system until after the court case which was at the time expected to take place sometime between October 2009 and October 2010 (it has now been set for October 5).

The commonly held belief is that the European Court will conclude that a "loophole" had been created that allowed the use of EU sourced foreign cards in UK pubs but that loophole is now firmly closed and the practice must stop with immediate effect.

In 2008 I wrote to every multiple operator and pubco and told them it was a time dependent window of opportunity and they needed to act fast and gain first mover advantage if they were to benefit.

I also told anyone who would listen not to sign up for an extended subscription package or buy any EU systems after October 2009. This was as far as I was concerned the cut off as a decision could be announced any time and that decision would always prevent the continued use of foreign systems commercially.

I exited the business as promised in October 2009 as I wanted to play fair but many others did not. It's true the case has not yet been heard but that is more luck than judgement and anyone currently using or worse still depending on EU sourced systems has a very short shelf life and need to rapidly reconsider their position.

For those using foreign satellite systems sourced from outside the EU, that's another story altogether. Without wishing to offend you deserve to be horsewhipped.

The entire legal defence meandering its way through the European Courts of Justice is based on the freedom of movement of goods within the EU. A past associate of mine argued that Albania is pretty close to the EU so it must be OK for him to sell them. I explained that he was pretty close to having breasts but it did not make him a woman!

Anyone selling non -EU systems is without question breaking the law and sooner or later you will get caught. This is not a case of me turning from poacher to gamekeeper it's a case of simple common sense.

During my time promoting the use of EU scoured satellite I always explained that Sky offers an incredible service and it's not a matter of what it costs as that's irrelevant and the simple question is does it offer my business value for money? .

If it does keep Sky and during the window of opportunity which is now well and truly closed you should have complimented it with an EU system.