The Asian Football Confederation has today (Wednesday) condemned pirate channel beoutQ for its broadcasts of the ongoing Asian Cup national team tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
The AFC has accused BeoutQ of illegally showing coverage of the competition, which is broadcast in the Middle East by Qatar-based beIN Sports.
BeoutQ has already been condemned by a host of broadcasters and federations around the world, with football’s global governing body, Fifa, confirming last summer that it was considering legal action against parties connected to the channel.
In a statement, the AFC said: “The AFC has already instructed counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia and is working alongside other sports rights owners that have also been affected to protect its interest.
“The AFC will continue to support its commercial and broadcast partners by protecting their contractual rights.”
Read: BeIN fights back against beoutQ, and calls for rights-holder support