Huge crackdown on pubs showing illegal Burnley matches
7:10am Saturday 20th March 2010 in
-
- By David Watkinson » Deputy news editor
PREMIER League bosses have launched a huge crackdown on illegally televised Clarets matches in Burnley pubs.
Investigators said since Burnley’s promotion last year the town has been flooded with decoder cards, typically for Albanian TV, allowing clubs and pubs to show matches without a licence.
Three pubs, including the Rose and Crown in Manchester Road on Thursday, have already been raided and police said many more will follow.
But fans groups said that the practice of using illegal satellite cards was not hurting clubs, especially because Burnley’s attendances had been good all season.
And Burnley’s chief executive Paul Fletcher said he had sympathy for fans watching the games in pubs but said: “It is illegal and we have to be supportive of the Premier League's actions."
On Thursday police raided the Rose and Crown and arrested the 56-year-old venue's manager on suspicion of fraud. Satellite boxes, decoding cards and documentation were seized.
Insp Karen Edwards said: "My intention is to carry out similar raids.
"The message to pubs is that further work is ongoing and I want to work with licensees on this issue.
"But if they continually fail to heed warnings then we will take positive action."
Mr Fletcher said: "We are always sympathetic to our fans and understand many watch games at these pubs.
"But we have got to balance it out with the laws of the land. Each club has the same problems but ours are new ones because of the promotion.
"We have to work with Sky on this issue because if we lose their support then the whole thing collapses."
Ray Hoskin, the managing director of Media Protection Services which investigates copyright offences for the Premier League, said there is a 'serious problem' in Burnley.
He said: "There are a lot of publicans who have been misled into buying these decoders by organised crime gangs who tell them that they will not be prosecuted.
"In Burnley's case this is a relatively new phenomenon because the club has just been promoted.
"It is a serious offence because it affects gates because people are not taking up tickets, particularly for away games.
"It is a serious problem and that is why we are going to continue these investigators. These decoders only cost £60 in Albania but are being sold to landlords for anywhere between £900 and £1,000.
"The Rose and Crown will not be the last pub raided in Burnley."
He said covert visits are made to offending pubs and warnings given before raids are carried out.
Tony Scholes, who runs the ClaretsMad fans website, said: “I don’t think this hits attendances, and especially not this season judging by the crowds we have had.
“I don’t see it as a major problem. Football fans go to football matches and the people who watch these games in pubs are a different market altogether.
“It is only like games being shown on Sky and the attendances are hardly affected then.”
Alan Beecroft, leader of the Colne Clarets fans group, added: “If it is illegal then it is illegal but I can’t imagine this has hit our attendances too much this season.
“This has been going on for years so I find it curious that they have suddenly started cracking down on it now.
“You have to ask whether the people who watch these illegal games in pubs are ones who would otherwise pay £30 to watch a game at Turf Moor. I don’t think they are.”
Bosses at Punch Taverns, confirmed it runs the Rose and Crown, but was unable to comment on the raid.
Comments(27)
Akki
says...
8:55am Sat 20 Mar 10
dadada
says...
8:58am Sat 20 Mar 10
hasslem hasslem
says...
9:02am Sat 20 Mar 10
Akki wrote:Akki - who are you talking about - burnley pub landlords? Where would you propose sending them? Costa del Sol?
If they cant live by our laws they should leave the country
willybob
says...
9:22am Sat 20 Mar 10
dadada
says...
9:56am Sat 20 Mar 10
ious fraud,child grooming by certain sections of our community, serious assaults and widespread anti social behaviour fuelled by alcohol sold in many cases to underage kids.This is what the vast majority of burnley people want not headline grabbing OTT pub raids for the petty act of copyright infringement for showing premier league football .The law abiding citizens of this town deserve better we have the highest burglary rate in the country and you and your officers are at the moment unfit for purpose .
wozer
says...
10:10am Sat 20 Mar 10
wozer
says...
10:19am Sat 20 Mar 10
mark from canada
says...
10:23am Sat 20 Mar 10
robertsonwelsh
says...
10:25am Sat 20 Mar 10
mark from canada
says...
10:30am Sat 20 Mar 10
If you ever visit Ottawa (Canada) maybe you could sort my satellite system out seeing you know so much. We get ripped off as much as Britain.
mark from canada
says...
10:39am Sat 20 Mar 10
robertsonwelsh wrote:Good comments and true...but...
Hey, what the hell is going on here? We are talking about the Police that the tax payers of Burnley pay for, protecting the copyright of a global empire, Sky TV. This is not a British company nor is it a European company. It’s a global company originating in Australia and owned by the family of the richest media moguls on the planet. Let’s get this into perspective, the pub land lord at the Rose and Crown was paying a company for the digi card to show the game and this company was in Albania, this country remains one of the poorest in Europe outside the former Soviet Union. I say, lets help the economy of the downtrodden man and to hell with the gazillion airs, they don’t need protecting. The Police need to take stock and realise that every piece of technology they use in their every day activity is a snide from one techno giant to another everything Microsoft have produced is a direct theft from IBM didn’t you know Bill Gates worked for IBM as a programmer in the early development days and he took off one day with all there secrets and started his own company. Hey but he’s that big now who is going to push him around. You tell me if there is a Copper in Burnley that has never downloaded anything from the internet or put a copied program onto his computer!! This is supposed theft isn’t it? All I am saying is get your priorities right, and lets deal with the crime that is affecting the good people of Burnley.
If sky tv pulled the plug because every pub in Britain showed live games without their subscription, Burnley, Blackburn and every other team would cease to exist.
hasslem hasslem
says...
10:52am Sat 20 Mar 10
.
Don't get me wrong, I hate Sky as much as the next person (whilst watching their output, which makes me a total hypocrite) but they, Sky, have paid an awful lot of money (or a lot of awful money) to the Premier League for broadcast rights of these games and will attempt to control the output of their "product".
.
My understanding is that the live matches being broadcast in the pubs in Burnley and Pendle (featuring Burnley FC) will be games that are not neccessarily being shown by Sky (if it is anything like some of the pubs in Balckburn and Darwen for Rovers games). Therefore, it comes down to whether it is legal or not to broadcast these games. If it is legal, then fine and dandy. If not, the Cops will have a go. It does not help the Landlord's plight if they are advertising these games outside their pubs on banners and A-boards. Tends to give the game away, literally.
.
It is a tricky one - 'cos I know that Sky's costs are increasingly prohibitive for public broadcasts. But with the might of Murdoch's empire they will look to protect their exclusivity, no matter how unpopular it makes them with Pub landlords.
.
And, Robertsonwelsh - if you think the money from these cards is going straight into the hands of the poor and oppressed Albanian folk, then think again. It goes into the same hands as the controllers of the Prostitutes and People Trafficing Mafia gangs.
wozer
says...
11:21am Sat 20 Mar 10
De La Rosa
says...
1:35pm Sat 20 Mar 10
petestan
says...
1:38pm Sat 20 Mar 10
robertsonwelsh wrote:If you want to get technical it's actually the premier league who are cracking down NOT sky tv, the premier league own the copyrights and sold the UK rights to sky for mega bucks they do not want anyone else showing the matches as they are worried sky will not pay as much next time the rights come up for auction. There is an ongoing court case at the moment.
Hey, what the hell is going on here? We are talking about the Police that the tax payers of Burnley pay for, protecting the copyright of a global empire, Sky TV. This is not a British company nor is it a European company. It’s a global company originating in Australia and owned by the family of the richest media moguls on the planet. Let’s get this into perspective, the pub land lord at the Rose and Crown was paying a company for the digi card to show the game and this company was in Albania, this country remains one of the poorest in Europe outside the former Soviet Union. I say, lets help the economy of the downtrodden man and to hell with the gazillion airs, they don’t need protecting. The Police need to take stock and realise that every piece of technology they use in their every day activity is a snide from one techno giant to another everything Microsoft have produced is a direct theft from IBM didn’t you know Bill Gates worked for IBM as a programmer in the early development days and he took off one day with all there secrets and started his own company. Hey but he’s that big now who is going to push him around. You tell me if there is a Copper in Burnley that has never downloaded anything from the internet or put a copied program onto his computer!! This is supposed theft isn’t it? All I am saying is get your priorities right, and lets deal with the crime that is affecting the good people of Burnley.
http://www.digitalsp
y.co.uk/forums/showt
hread.php?t=710033
Burnleyite36
says...
8:18pm Sat 20 Mar 10
hasslem hasslem wrote:hasleem BUT DO U EAT BACON IS WHAT COUNTS,LMBO
Markr wrote: hasslem hasslem you inflict pain on the readers by the mere mention of your name... doesnt sound very English so how can you comment on what goes on in England, keep your foreign views to yourself.Markr - Just so you know (for what its worth) Hasslem Hasslem refers to a "get stuck in" style shout that I direct to my teams players from my seat at Ewood - if I don't think some of our namby-pamby players are not giving 100% against opposition like Arsenal and Chelsea. . Again for what its worth, 100% Anglo-Saxon, White, born and raised in Lancashire. Love Hot-Pot and Pork Pies (as well as a good Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican). . Your comment manages to combine both ignorance and racism in one single paragraph.....Congra tulations! . Finally we could play the same game - Markr sounds a bit Arabic, not that this would be a problem for me. But I am sure you wouldn't want to be associated with such a bunch of people. . Mark - just keep throwing rocks at the moon, pointing at aeroplanes and trying to use broken biscuits as legal tender. . Get your head out your arse and embrace the wider world. Some of it is fabulous.
mikebuk
says...
12:01am Sun 21 Mar 10
Surely it should read, 'Showing Burnley matches illegally'.
Fred Storm
says...
7:28am Sun 21 Mar 10
blueette
says...
8:21am Sun 21 Mar 10
Burnley matches are not illegal in themselves.
Or have the Telegraph now jettisoned sub-editors and allowed semi-literate reporters to write their ownm headlines?
robertsonwelsh
says...
10:52am Sun 21 Mar 10
hasslem hasslem
says...
12:41pm Sun 21 Mar 10
robertsonwelsh wrote:course they are - but not the pimps, trafficers and organised crime gangs that control, exploit and take all the money off them.
Hey, all I am saying is! Let he who is without illegal downloads throw the first stone and to hasslem hasslem, Prostitutes are down trodden people aren’t they?
blyfan
says...
8:34pm Sun 21 Mar 10
HarwoodBiker
says...
10:23am Mon 22 Mar 10
Strange how the police didn't lift a finger when I've had posessions stolen, yet they're quite happy to spend thousands of pounds protecting the interests of Rupert bloody Murdoch, isn't it?
I do not want my police force (because I do own part of it, just like everyone else who pays council tax) spending my money on this. Yes, it may harm Burnley FC - so let them file a court case against the pubs illegally showing their matches! I never watch football and I dont see why a significant portion of our tax money should be spent on it (how much does it cost to police matchdays at Ewood anyway? I bet its a lot!)
Let the clubs pay for it if they want the police to spend their time hunting illegal football matches on TV! (Which is quite funny in itself - how can watching something on TV be illegal? Perhaps they shouldn't broadcast it freely over the airwaves in the first place if they don't want people to watch it.)
robertsonwelsh
says...
10:30am Mon 22 Mar 10
Chris P Bacon
says...
5:19pm Mon 22 Mar 10
De La Rosa wrote:Hey, De La Rosa; have you named yourself after one of the most beautiful things on this planet? You know, the De La Rosa bike? Magnifique it is.
iraqgoals = legend.
hasslem hasslem
says...
9:40pm Mon 22 Mar 10
robertsonwelsh wrote:loads of insightful documentaries on tv, insightful investigative journalists on the times, daily telegraph and guardian, numerous articles on radio 4.
To hasslem hasslem, What the!!! How did we go from a company offering sport subscriptions to the abuse of Prostitutes by the entire criminal underworld of Albania? I feel as though I should phone the Police in Albania and ask them what the hell is going on over there! It isn’t right and anyway how do you know so much about the abuse of Prostitutes in Albania? “Funny that”
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not "funny that". from your implication i can assure you i have no hands-on experience. never been to the moon, but i know what it looks like.
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CRACKDOWN: The Rose and Crown which was raided.
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hasslem hasslem says...
7:52am Sat 20 Mar 10
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pubs showing burnley games live?....surely pubs are meant to be pleasant places to go and relax. don't these renegade landlords that by showing these games, they are inflicting massive pain on their customers.
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very cruel landlords