DOHA • The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Wednesday it was taking legal action in Saudi Arabia against television channel beoutQ for illegally broadcasting its Asian Cup, the region's biggest football tournament.
The channel has been accused by football's governing body Fifa, tennis governing bodies and other sports bodies of illegally airing content, whose exclusive TV rights in the Middle East belong to Qatar-based broadcaster beIN.
BeoutQ emerged in 2017 after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar and accused the tiny Gulf state of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.
BeoutQ is widely available in Saudi Arabia. But Riyadh says it is not based there and that the authorities are committed to fighting piracy, including announcing the confiscation of 12,000 pirating devices last June.
It is unclear who owns or operates the channel.
In a statement, the AFC said the Asian Cup, which kicked off in Abu Dhabi last week, had been appearing illegally on beoutQ.
"The AFC has already instructed counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia and is working alongside other sports rights owners that have also been affected to protect its interest," the statement said.
The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the AFC action.
Qatar-based beIN Sports holds exclusive TV rights to a wide range of events for the Middle East including football's World Cup, the English Premier League, and AFC matches.
Last month, the World Trade Organisation said it would investigate Qatari allegations of intellectual property breaches by Saudi Arabia, including the piracy of beIN content, despite Riyadh's objections on national security grounds.
Fifa said last July it would pursue legal action against beoutQ after the illegal broadcast of last year's World Cup, but details of the case have not yet been made public.
Saudi Arabia said at the time that the football governing body's decision would supplement its "relentless efforts" to combat beoutQ's activities.
REUTERS
Home United utility Hariss Harun insists his side have proved they can more than match Albirex Niigata (S) as they prepare for this week's two-legged Singapore Cup semifinal. The Protectors snapped the S.League leaders' 12-game winning streak when they met in the S.League last Tuesday, pushing them all the way in a 1-1 draw.
COMMENT: Why Albirex Niigata will not win the S.League in
"He's got ambition and talent. It's hard to find a player with talent that still works so hard but that's Kang-in. Those of us that know him have no doubt that he'll go all the way." -Miguel Grau (Valencia Mestalla coach) Already rated at €80 million (A$124m) by LaLiga side Valencia, 17-year-old South Korean Lee […]
LaLiga: Valencia's Korean starlet Lee Kang-in set for senior
Mohamed Salah completed a memorable day for Egyptian football by retaining his African Player of the Year award in Senegal Tuesday. Salah Retains African Award to Seal Great Day for Egypt
Salah retains African award to seal great day for Egypt
What Luis Suarez said about Liverpool's incredible win over Barcelona in Champions League. It was a night to forget for the former Reds forward as he returned to Anfield
5 Things Liverpool Needs To Beat Barcelona In The Champions
Football: Ikhsan Fandi scores first competitive goal for Norwegian club Raufoss with overhead-kick winner The top two teams earn automatic promotion while third to sixth enter the play-off for
Ikhsan Fandi scores 1st goal for Norwegian club Raufoss with
In total, he has won nine La Liga titles with the club, as well as four in the Champions League and six in the Copa del Rey. "Messi is a one-club man," Bartomeu added. "It's more than what he does on the pitch, his relationship with Barca will last forever. "I use the example of Pele, who was always at Santos. We want Messi to always be at
Josep Maria Bartomeu Wants to Keep Lionel Messi 'Forever' as
Salgaocar hope for rub of the green in I-League. We don't have a lot of preparation time. Salgaocar do not lack depth in midfield and are particularly well served in this department with
West Indies' fury at 'dodgy' decisions as Australia get rub
Sergio Aguero's penalty gave champions Manchester City a 1-0 win over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to stay a point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. The decisive moment came in the 59th minute when Felipe Anderson was ruled to have brought down Bernardo Silva and Aguero coolly slotted home from the spot.
Man City 1-0 West Ham: Sergio Aguero scores penalty to seal
In any case, he was born in 1977 and is forty-one years of age. He spent seven years at Skills F.C. in the Saint Croix Soccer League - there are two separate leagues in the Virgin Islands for mainly geographic reasons. He now plays for Rovers in the same league, he's a goalkeeper, and that's about all there is to know.
A 24-team Club World Cup would be held every four years and start in 2021 if approved. 2019, with the headline 'Fifa study to decide fate of 48-team World Cup'. Print Edition
Soccer: Qatar won't decide on 48-team World Cup until it's
Football: Belgium top Fifa rankings again but England on the
Osako double saves the day for Japan, Football News & Top
0 comments:
Post a Comment