FIFA-led investigation reveals Saudi piracy broadcast scandal
CGTN

FIFA and several of the world's top football leagues on Monday announced a joint statement to reveal Saudi pirate broadcaster beoutQ's breach of the intellectual property rights of global sports events in a systematic and widespread way.

FIFA said the contents of the report on Monday have been published in full on the rights holders' websites to provide transparency about the facts of the case and to demonstrate the seriousness of the issue.

The statement followed a detailed report published by MarkMonitor in April, as the football's world governing body commissioned the U.S.-based brand protection corporate to conduct independent technical analysis of beoutQ's operations since May 2018.

The report confirms "without question" that beoutQ's pirate broadcasts have been transmitting signals using satellite infrastructure owned and operated by Saudi-based company Arabsat.

It proves that beoutQ, established in 2017, has been illegally broadcasting matches mainly in Saudi Arabia, and the game rights in the region should belong to Qatar-based beIN Sports.

"Cutting off its access to transmission services would be a major step in the fight to stop beoutQ," FIFA noted.

FIFA was joined by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Asian Football Confederation, German Bundesliga, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 in the anti-piracy call against beoutQ.

They collectively "condemn in the strongest possible terms the ongoing theft of our intellectual property by the pirate broadcaster known as 'beoutQ'".

In July, FIFA said they were unable to find a Saudi law firm willing to act on their behalf.

"As copyright holders we have reached the conclusion, regrettably, that it is now not possible to retain legal counsel in Saudi Arabia which is willing or able to act on our behalf in filing a copyright complaint against beoutQ," a statement released by FIFA said.

They also called on the authorities in Saudi Arabia to offer support in ending the widespread and flagrant breaches of intellectual property rights taking place in the country.