Saudi Arabia welcomes FIFA piracy action
Saudi Arabia has welcomed FIFA’s announcement that it has engaged legal counsel to take action in Saudi Arabia against the alleged pirate channel beoutQ.
Yesterday, WIPR reported that football’s international governing body FIFA was making moves to tackle the pirate site, which has been streaming World Cup matches in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Saudi Arabia has previously denied allegations made by tennis governing bodies that the country is the source of beoutQ.
Yesterday, in welcoming FIFA’s announcement, Saudi Arabia’s ministry of media said that the governing body’s actions would supplement the “relentless efforts” by the ministry of commerce and investment in combatting beoutQ’s activities.
“These efforts and others reinforce the government of Saudi Arabia’s devotion to protecting IP rights within [Saudi Arabia],” said the ministry.
BeoutQ’s pirate broadcasts are allegedly available in Saudi Arabia, but the ministry claimed that the website is not based in the country.
It added that beoutQ’s set-top boxes are also available in, and its pirate broadcasts are targeted at, other nations in the MENA region.
In addition to engaging with counsel, FIFA is working alongside other sports rights owners that have been affected.
The World Cup ends on Sunday, July 15, when France will play Croatia.
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