Oman bans pirate beIN decoders ahead of World Cup

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Oman has banned the import of decoders that would allow viewers to watch pirated versions of World Cup matches transmitted by Qatari broadcaster beIN Media, an Omani official said on Wednesday.

As one of the world's biggest buyers of sports rights, BeIN plans to show all 64 World Cup matches in the Middle East and in North Africa.

The official on condition of anonymity said: "the import of these decoders, called beoutQ, was banned because they violate the law on intellectual property."

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BeoutQ, a sophisticated Saudi bootlegging network which use a signal from Riyadh-based satellite provider Arabsat, had been illegally transmitting its broadcasts, according to beIN.

The move comes amid an increasing war of words over broadcast piracy in the region, ahead of the World Cup which begins on June 14, and against a backdrop of a Gulf diplomatic crisis.

BeIN claims its expensively purchased broadcast rights for major sporting events in the region are being undermined by pirate broadcasters operating out of Saudi Arabia.

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It is reported that beIN has sent requests to several countries asking them to ban "beoutQ" decoders.

At the same time, General Counsel of beIN Sophie Jordan told AFP that the Doha-based broadcaster had called for intervention earlier this week by football's governing body, FIFA.

"We have requested FIFA to take direct legal action against Arabsat and the indications we have shown that they (FIFA) are behind that (the call for legal action)".

FIFA said it takes "violations of its intellectual property very seriously".

Saudi Arabia and Qatar no longer maintain diplomatic relations since a year ago, in a crisis which has seen Doha isolated from its neighboring former allies.

(With input from AFP)