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Premier League threatens legal action against ‘pirate’ Saudi channel

August 23, 2018 at 2:38 pm

Footballers seen during the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2018 on June 14, 2018 [@QatarAirways / Twitter]

Saudi is behind the illegal screening of Premier League football matches across the Middle East and North Africa, the Premier League claimed on Tuesday.

The move comes as Saudi Arabia continues its boycott of neighbouring Gulf state Qatar whose beIN Media Group purchased the right to broadcast the football games across the region two years ago.

In a statement the Premier League said it was taking action to prevent the theft of its intellectual property rights and threatened legal action.

The games have been aired on “beoutQ” which is hosted by the Saudi government owned Arabsat satellite network.

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The Premier League added that it “strongly condemns the illegal broadcast piracy of its matches currently taking place in Saudi Arabia and available in multiple territories throughout the Middle East by an illegal pirate channel called ‘beoutQ’.”

“All 20 Premier League matches played during the first two weekends of the season were broadcast illegally on the channel.”

Saudi is one of four countries that launched a boycott of Qatar in June 2017 accusing it of supporting terrorism, allegations Doha vehemently denies.

There have been no comments from Saudi authorities or Arabsat.