Football crackdown nets 212 pubs

More than 200 licensees have been prosecuted for screening Premiership football in their pubs using domestic Sky cards during the last season.

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) secured 212 convictions against hosts who showed matches without the correct contract, the group said.

It comes as fresh warnings are issued about using domestic Sky cards to screen football during the forthcoming season, which starts this month.

The prosecutions resulted in two hosts having their licences revoked — these were Sally Greaves of the New Inn, Portsmouth, and Kishor Ravalia of the John O'Gaunt, Leicester.

In addition David Edwards, of the Swan Inn, Sturry, Kent, and Frank Carty, of the Prince of Wales, in London NW5, face licence suspensions.

Portsmouth's Milton Arms received the highest penalty of the 2009-10 season with a total, in fines and costs, of £16,435.71.

Stephen Gerrard, FACT's prosecuting manager, said: "Our aim is to create an effective deterrent to licensees who try to fraudulently show Sky content on their premises. As many cases have shown, we successfully pursue and prosecute dishonest licensees who are then faced with substantial fines, costs and a criminal record."

A spokeswoman for Sky said: "These cases demonstrate the seriousness of this issue as courts continue to deliver considerable penalties to licensees who televise Sky content illegally. Sky's ongoing support for FACT in prosecuting licensees who break the law demonstrates our commitment to protecting the interests of our legitimate subscribers."

The maximum penalty for breach of section 297 (1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 is £5,000 per offence. FACT has prosecuted more than 1,500 licensees for breaches.