The English Football League and Scottish Professional Football League are investigating and considering legal action after discovering that their matches are being broadcast in Russia without permission, despite rights deals being suspended in 2022.
The English Football League and Scottish Professional Football League have launched investigations and are considering legal action against a Russian streaming service that has been broadcasting matches from both leagues without authorization. Football TV, a Russian subscription and streaming platform, has shown numerous games from the opening rounds of the EFL season as well as Scottish Premiership matches featuring Celtic, Rangers and Hearts.
Both leagues suspended their broadcasting rights agreements with Russian outlets following the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and have not sold rights in the country since. The matches being shown on Football TV therefore appear to be pirated feeds. The EFL contacted the broadcaster last week after becoming aware of the unauthorized transmissions, but the service continued to broadcast live matches over the weekend.
The Premier League also suspended its Russian rights deal in 2022. The EFL and SPFL are now working to identify the source of the pirated content and are considering all available legal options, including taking action against the broadcaster and whoever is supplying the illegal feeds.