Skip to main content

Piracy case ruling jeopardises Newcastle takeover

The Saudi-backed takeover of Newcastle United has been placed in jeopardy by a report by the World Trade Organisation that found Saudi Arabia in breach of intellectual property rules by the broadcaster beoutQ, an Arabic language network.  This followed a complaint by Qatar about piracy of Premier League matches.

Qatar argued that beoutQ was streaming content rightfully owned by its broadcaster beIN Sports that has paid billions of dollars for exclusive rights to major sporting events.    In addition to piracy on social media, giant screens were used to allow viewing of 2018 World Cup matches.

The 125-page report is indigestible even for someone who knows something about international trade law, but the key passage is on p.90:
[The evidence]  supports Qatar's assertions that: (a) beoutQ's piracy was promoted by prominent Saudi nationals, (b) beoutQ targets the Saudi market, (c) beoutQ's pirate broadcasts are transmitted via Arabsat satellite frequencies, and (d) beoutQ has received assistance from a Saudi content distributor in delivering its pirated broadcasts to Saudi consumers. Taking these conclusions together, and recalling the applicable standard of proof and evidentiary principles in WTO dispute settlement571, the Panel considers that Qatar has established a prima facie case that beoutQ is operated by individuals or entities subject to the criminal jurisdiction of Saudi Arabia. 

Uefa commented, 'What is clear is that beoutQ's broadcasts constitute piracy of Uefa's matches and, as such, are illegal.'  The Premier League declined to comment.   However, it is open to question whether the Premier League can approve the takeover given that it has previously tried unsuccessfully to take legal action against the piracy in Saudi Arabia.   

It is more than ten weeks since the Premier League instructed its lawyers to see if the takeover complies with its owners' and directors' test.  This allows potential owners to be barred if they have committed an act in a foreign jurisdiction that would be considered a criminal offence in the UK, even if not illegal in their home territory.

Those involved in the takeover argue that the Saudi public investment fund people involved with it are not linked to the piracy, even if the fund is government-controlled.  The Saudi Government insisted that it had been cleared of copyright piracy and the WTO had accepted its national security explanations.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spurs CEO attacks luxury training base

The Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has issued a withering assessment of the way the club was run under Daniel Levy, likening the state-of-the-art training centre to a five-star hotel rather than a centre of high performance.  Venkatesham was appointed to his role in April 2025, having stepped down as chief executive at Arsenal the previous summer. However, he has said that some aspects of the club were “in a significantly worse state” than he expected.  “Our training centre is amazing, one of the best, if not the best in the world,” Venkatesham told BBC Sport. “But when you look around, it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a performance environment. That will change over the summer. I think there are many areas where the club hasn’t got the right level of expertise.”  He explained that the football side of operations was the club’s main downfall when he arrived last year. [One Spurs fan wryly observed that it was like a water company sayi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more