The French Sports Ministry and Frédéric Thiriez, the president of the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the French football league, has rubbished Canal Plus’s attempts to prevent rival pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports from participating in the tender for the next cycle of domestic rights to the top-tier Ligue 1.
Earlier this week Canal Plus submitted a note to the French government claiming that beIN Sports should be blocked from acquiring rights, to run from the 2016-17 season, due to a conflict of interest. Qatar’s ruling family controls the Qatar Investment Authority, which is the majority owner of leading Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Al Jazeera, the parent company of beIN Sports.
“It is not PSG that sells the rights, but the football league, based on the opinion of a steering committee, with which PSG is not a member,” the Ministry, which added that measures were already in place to prevent a conflict of interest, said. “Such a ban would also have major consequences for the value of the league’s television rights and therefore on the economic balance of French professional football.”
Thiriez added: “This is obviously another attempt by Canal Plus to stifle competition.” Thiriez added that he would seek an appointment with “the relevant ministries and presidents of the competition authority… to protest against anti-competitive actions.”