December 23 – A commercial court in A Coruña has ordered the website’ Roja Driecta’s s parent company, Puerto 80 Projects, and its director, Igor Seoane, to pay €31.6 million in damages to Grup MediaPro for illegally pirating football broadcasts, including LaLiga matches from the 2014/15 season.
The court found Puerto 80 and Seoane jointly and severally liable for €15.8 million of the total damages. The calculation is based on what the company would have paid for legitimate access to Grup MediaPro’s broadcast signal. This judgment comes nearly a decade after legal proceedings against the site began, marking a landmark victory for intellectual property rights in football.
The Supreme Court had already ruled in 2022 that Puerto 80 Projects and Seoane were responsible for Roja Directa’s widespread piracy of LaLiga matches. The website, which operated in Spain, provided free illegal streams of premium sports content, including Spanish league fixtures, generating massive advertising revenues. Judicial reports revealed that just one Puerto 80 account raked in more than €11 million.
While fans streamed for free, Puerto 80 cashed in through ads and referral commissions from sportsbook platforms. Now, with this €31.6 million judgment, the cost of piracy has finally caught up with the company.
Seoane isn’t just facing financial consequences – he’s also in the dock for criminal charges. Grup MediaPro and LaLiga are seeking a six-year prison sentence for Seoane, while the prosecutor is calling for four years.
The charges stem from ongoing intellectual property violations and the profits pocketed from Roja Directa’s illegal activities.
To prepare for future liabilities, Puerto 80 has been ordered to deposit a €4 miliion bond. Despite the court’s efforts to crack down, Roja Directa continues its illicit operations outside Spain, showcasing the global challenges of curbing digital piracy.
For years, Roja Directa symbolised the murky world of illegal sports streaming. Now, with the site shuttered in Spain and its administrator facing hefty fines and possible jail time, the case underscores the high stakes battle for the enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1735001207labto1735001207ofdlr1735001207owedi1735001207sni@g1735001207niwe.1735001207yrrah1735001207