MA Sport
Illegal football broadcast nets publican £65,000 fine
Anthony Luxton, operator at the Rhyddings Pub, this week failed with an appeal against a fine for showing Premier League matches via unauthorised foreign channels.
The Swansea site had been showing games through a foreign broadcast system designed for domestic use and, in January 2014, was ordered to pay £65,000 in costs for the infringement and also had an injunction issued against further illegal screenings.
Two Appeal Court judges have now dismissed the pub’s appeal saying Luxton still used a "domestic" decoder box to screen football matches in the bar "without any consent at all" from the Premier League.
Reacting to the news, a Premier League spokesperson said: "We are pleased that the court has upheld the injunction against this pub, which was ordered at the initial judgment to pay £65,000 of costs for breaching the Premier League copyright.
"This decision further illustrates the huge risks publicans take when they make unauthorised broadcasts of our matches in their premises. Sky Sports and BT Sport are the only authorised broadcasters of live Premier League football in the UK, and legal action will continue to be taken against those who supply illegal systems, and those publicans that use them in their establishments."
This fine and injunction follows a recent £1m fine that was issued to a pair of fraudsters that illegally supplied Premier League football to publicans.
