Football body condemns ‘BeoutQ’ for illegally broadcasting Asian Cup

JEDDAH: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) condemned the pirate entity named “BeoutQ” for illegally broadcasting the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in UAE.
In a statement released on their official website Wednesday, it states: “The AFC has already instructed counsel to take legal action ... The AFC will continue to support its commercial and broadcast partners by protecting their contractual rights.”
BeoutQ first made headlines for its piracy broadcast of the FIFA World Cup in June 2018. Upon accusations from UEFA, and later in July from Wimbledon officials that BeoutQ is based in Saudi Arabia, The Saudi Ministry of Media unequivocally rejected the claim as baseless, stating that UEFA and Wimbledon were relying on the much biased “beIN Sports” as the source of these speculative allegations.
BeoutQ’s illegal piracy activity is not a regional issue but an international one, with their broadcasting boxes having been found to exist not only in the Middle East, but in North Africa and Europe as well.
More curiously though, it has also been found to be publicly broadcast in Qatar.
Saudi Arabia has continuously reiterated its tough stance on piracy and the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights. Through its Ministry of Commerce and Investment, Saudi Arabia has persistently combatted BeoutQ’s activities within the Kingdom where the Ministry of Commerce has seized thousands of set-top boxes that would otherwise be used to violate intellectual property (IP) rights.
Last year, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Media said that FIFA’s measures to counter piracy of broadcasting rights would “supplement the relentless efforts by the KSA Ministry of Commerce and Investment in combatting BeoutQ’s activities and beIN’s illegal broadcasting within the country.”

Football body condemns ‘BeoutQ’ for illegally broadcasting Asian Cup