Injunction to stop match streaming

THE GOVERNING body of European football has been granted a High Court injunction aimed at tackling illicit streaming of matches.

A judge in London made an order applied for by the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) against the six main retail internet service providers (ISPs) in the UK.

Although five of the providers supported the move, with a sixth neither supporting nor opposing the application, Mr Justice Arnold said he still had to decide whether an injunction was “justified”.

The judge said the claim by the body, which organises a number of European football competitions, including the Uefa Champions League and the Uefa Europa League, was for an injunction “requiring” the service providers “to take measures to block, or at least impede, access by their customers to streaming servers which deliver infringing live streams of Uefa competition matches to UK consumers”.

Mr Justice Arnold said in a written decision just published: “The Uefa competitions are very popular with television viewers in the UK. This year’s Champions League final attracted several million viewers.”

He added: “Uefa’s evidence establishes that it owns the copyright in television broadcasts of all matches in the Uefa competitions, and in films (particularly replays), artistic works and musical works which are incorporated within those broadcasts.”