Hundreds of prosecutions against pubs by the Premier League over foreign satellite football could be "void"

By Adam Pescod

- Last updated on GMT

Hundreds of prosecutions against pubs by the Premier League over foreign satellite football could be "void"
Prosecutions brought against hundreds of licensees by the Premier League since 2005 could be rendered “void” following a landmark ruling made in the High Court yesterday.

That is the view of  legal experts including licensing expert Peter Coulson, Andy Grimsey at Poppleston Allen and  solicitor Paul Dixon, of Molesworths Bright Clegg.

Dixon yesterday saw his clients, Andrew and Christine Crawford, of the Railway Inn, in Helsby, Cheshire escape prosecution for using an Albanian satellite system to show live football in the pub.

In the High Court yesterday it was ruled that Media Protection Services (MPS), which prosecutes on behalf of the Premier League, was “not acting in their own right but on behalf of FAPL, for reward”. Lord Justice Stanley Burton said that MPS director Ray Hoskin (now deceased) had “acted as a solicitor within the meaning and in breach of section 20 of the 1974 (Solicitors) Act. He was not an authorised litigator.”

Burton said that MPS’s prosecution was “incompetent” and agreed with the judgment of Chester Magistrates Court on 25 October 2011 that the proceedings were “void and should therefore be dismissed.”

Now, following the ruling,  the legal experts have claimed that it will have a significant bearing on all other prosecutions brought by MPS on licensees, of which there are “hundreds”.

“It will certainly have a bearing on all pending cases, unless of course the Premier League appeal,” said Dixon, who represented the Crawfords. “This decision of the High Court will have implications for all prosecutions brought by MPS between 2005 and 2011.

“We can only go by what the Premier League has said in their press releases but they talk about hundreds of prosecutions.”

Legal expert Peter Coulson added: "The judge in this case, who is highly respected, was saying that the actual action is void, because the prosecution was incompetent.

"Does that mean that all the actions taken by MPS between 2005 and 2011 are void, and that they will have to pay back the damages and costs? I would say that if the judge has declared them void, then on an application they may well have to."

Grimsey at Poppleston Allen said: "If this fatal procedural irregularity has been repeated in all the prosecutions brought by MPS since 2005 then it could in theory endanger those prosecutions and render them void. Following due process is usually critical to the validity of any prosecution. The judgment needs careful scrutiny."

It is understood that the Premier League is seeking legal advice on the implications for past cases.

Related topics Licensing Law Legislation

Property of the week

Follow us

Pub Trade Guides

View more