FIFA said Sunday they were exploring legal options after revealing unauthorised transmissions of the ongoing Women's World Cup in France were made in Saudi Arabia by pirate broadcaster, beoutQ. The world governing body also called for satellite operator Arabsat's cooperation in the face of the "intellectual property" infringement. This is not the first time that FIFA has pointed the finger at beoutQ, a channel which has often been accused of fanning the flames of political tensions between bitter regional rivals Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
"beoutQ's unauthorised transmissions of the Women's World Cup 2019 are made available by way of Arabsat satellite frequencies. FIFA is therefore seeking the cooperation of Arabsat in addressing the misuse of FIFA's intellectual property," said a FIFA statement. "In addition, FIFA continues to explore each of its legal options as a means to address beoutQ's unauthorised broadcasts.
In this regard, FIFA is working with a number of other rights holders whose rights have also been infringed by beoutQ." Qatari media group beIN has been demanding $1 billion for a "mass piracy" of its sports programmes which they attributed to Saudi Arabia via satellite operator Arabsat and beoutQ.