FIFA, UEFA, the English Premier League, La Liga, the German Bundesliga and the Asian Football Confederation weighed in on Tuesday by blasting beoutQ’s actions as “a clear and flagrant breach of our intellectual property rights”. FIFA and the Premier League have previously said they were preparing to take legal action in Saudi Arabia against the pirates, but Tuesday’s statement makes no mention of the kingdom. In October, beIN launched a compensation claim worth $1 billion (880 million euros) against the Saudi piracy channel while Qatar filed an action at the World Trade Organization. Saudi Arabia has denied the claims and even said the piracy was operating out of Cuba. The spat over beoutQ’s actions comes amid a 19-month economic and diplomatic boycott of Qatar by Saudi Arabia and its allies, who accuse Doha of backing terrorism and seeking closer ties with rival Iran.

Source: The Guardian January 22, 2019 13:07 UTC