UK police raid Blackburn pubs and seize satellite equipment | |
Police in Blackburn, NW England, have raided four public houses and seized satellite equipment that was being used to show English football matches to customers using overseas satellite channels. In England and Scotland, it is illegal to screen live matches at 3 pm on Saturdays, the traditional time for live football, but the FA Premier League provides a picture feed from one of the games to TV stations outside the UK. It is easy for pubs to obtain the satellite equipment and viewing cards required. The Premier League is becoming increasingly proactive in chasing the offenders.
This morning, police and trading standards officers accompanied by Media Protection Services (MPS), the company that operates on behalf of UK rights-holder BSkyB, raided 4 Blackburn pubs and seized foreign satellite cards and decoders. MPS had previously visited these pubs and warned licensees they were breaking the law.
Dan Johnson, chief spokesman for the FA Premier League, said that along with MPS it would now look to prosecute the offending licensees. “This sends a clear message to the licensed trade that the use of foreign satellite systems is illegal and will not be tolerated,” he said. “We hope that other licensees will take heed and stop using these illegal systems, so it’s not necessary to pursue the prosecution of other publicans. We will also be using this evidence to target suppliers in the coming months.”
A number of licensees have continued to show football via foreign satellite systems after prosecutions against licensees recently failed on the basis they did not know they were acting dishonestly. Suppliers of foreign satellite systems to the pub trade continue to claim they are operating within the law
(Source: The Publican via Media network weblog)
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