By Andrew Warshaw
June 17 – The pressure on the English Premier League to step in and halt the £300 million takeover of Newcastle United following the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) verdict that Saudi Arabia had facilitated broadcast piracy by the Saudi-based BeoutQ operation is intensifying further after both FIFA and UEFA welcomed the ruling.
The 125-page WTO report, while not mentioning Newcastle per se, concluded there is evidence that beoutQ was promoted and supported by the Saudi government, and ruled that the Saudis are in breach of their obligations under international law as a result.
The WTO determined that Saudi Arabia “acted inconsistently with WTO rules on the protection of intellectual property (IP) by failing to take actions against a pirate commercial-scale broadcaster operating openly in the country.”
The report came in response to a complaint by Qatar in 2018 that Saudi Arabia had committed “wilful copyright piracy on a commercial scale”
The Saudis were accused of illegally transmitting Premier League matches via the pirate broadcaster when the rights in the Middle East and North Africa are actually the property of beIN Sports, owned by Saudi’s regional rival Qatar which paid millions of dollars.
An investment consortium fronted by Saudi Arabia’s controversial Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is bidding to turn Newcastle, among English football’s most fanatically supported sleeping giants, into one of the richest clubs in the world.
The Premier league now has to establish, via their owners’ and directors’ test, whether the piracy issue can be linked to any of the owners or directors involved in the take-over. The consortium includes the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the billionaire British-based property developers Reuben brothers plus financier Amanda Staveley who brokered the deal.
But FIFA and UEFA have made it clear where they stand in terms of stealing rights.
In a statement FIFA said it “acknowledges the final panel report published by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in relation to the activity of the pirate broadcaster known as ‘beoutQ’ and the active involvement and support that has been provided by Saudi Arabia (KSA) in the past three years.
“FIFA agrees with the WTO panel’s recommendations and demands that KSA takes the necessary steps in order that it conforms to its obligations under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement with immediate effect in order to protect legitimate media rights partners, such as BeIN, and also football itself. The WTO panel’s recommendations are clear and piracy of football matches is an illegal activity and will not be tolerated on any level.
“FIFA takes infringements of its intellectual property very seriously and is working in close partnership with FIFA licensees globally to combat such issues including illegal streaming and unauthorised broadcasts. FIFA will continue to collaborate with its various partners to minimise issues relating to the infringement of its rights both in the MENA region and globally.”
UEFA also issued a statement saying it “welcomes the World Trade Organisation report and its conclusions.”
“What is clear is that beoutQ’s broadcasts constitute piracy of UEFA’s matches and as such, are illegal.
“BeoutQ was hosted on frequencies transmitted by Arabsat and was promoted and carried out by individuals and entities subject to Saudi Arabia’s territorial jurisdiction.”
“Those seeking to follow beoutQ’s example should be in no doubt that UEFA will go to great lengths to protect its property and support its partners, whose investment in football helps it to remain the world’s most popular sport from grassroots to elite level. Piracy not only threatens that investment but also the existence of professional sport as we know it.”
“Today’s ruling shows clearly that no-one involved in audio-visual piracy should consider themselves above the rule of law.”
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