beIN launches $1bn claim again Saudis for IP theft as Qatar state goes to WTO for help

By Paul Nicholson

October 1 – Saudi Arabia has been hit with a two-pronged billion dollar offensive from broadcaster beIN and the Qatar state over the on-going copyright theft of pirate broadcaster beoutQ. A consortium of rights holders including FIFA and the Premier League are expected to follow suit in the coming days as the Saudis rapidly turn themselves into the pariahs of the sports rights business.

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ICAS plays down significance of RFC Seraing ruling 

By David Owen

September 11 – The International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) has played down the significance of a ruling by the Brussels Court of Appeal that has been reported as calling into question the ability of football bodies, and potentially counterparts in other sports, to insist that disputes go to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

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Crystal Palace fanzine holds Sussex police to account

August 23 – Coming just a day after the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would not be prosecuting Hillsborough police chief Norman Bettison for his part and lies in the cover-up of the disaster, Sussex police have been found to be in breach of the Freedom of Information (FoI) act.

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