Just like the Premier League, European football’s governing body UEFA is coming hard at illegal streams of live matches.
UEFA has won an extension of its High Court injunction requiring internet service providers to drop the block hammer on live streams of European games. That’ll include fixtures in the Champions League and Europa League for the forthcoming season.
In the UK, BT Sport has exclusive rights to both competitions, meaning Brits need a subscription in order to enjoy the action. That has led many to seek alternative means of watching through Kodi add-ons and other web-based streams.
Related: Kodi crackdown will fail unless BT & Sky get real
Torrent Freak reports the extension was approved by High Court Justice Arnold, a prominent figure in these cases, without opposition from any of the UK internet service providers. Justice Arnold said the First Order (not the Star Wars one) was very effective in blocking access to matches last season so granted a renewal.
He writes: “The evidence filed by UEFA in support of this application demonstrates that the First Order was very effective in achieving the blocking of access to the Target Servers during UEFA matches.
“Moreover, no evidence has been found of overblocking despite checks having been undertaken. There was one incident on which a stream was erroneously blocked, but it was not a case of overblocking because it was in fact an infringing stream although not covered by the terms of the First Order.”
Earlier this month, the Premier League also won an extension to its court order, enabling it to go after those troublesome illegal streams. Given the success of both organisation’s efforts, it may be harder for Kodi streamers to enjoy live football without forking over some cash in 2018/19.
Will UEFA and the EPL’s rulings affect your ability to tune into top football this coming season? Are you a paying customer happy to see the powers that be tackling the freeloaders? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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