Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Media has rubbished claims it is complicit in the operation of pirate service BeoutQ as a “malicious lie”.
Last week, the top sanctioning and governing bodies in tennis joined forces to “publicly condemn and call for the immediate closure” of BeoutQ. The All England Lawn Tennis Club, French Tennis Federation, Tennis Australia and the United States Tennis Association, which all operate the sport’s four grand slams, were included in a joint statement to call for the action by the International Tennis Federation, ATP World Tour and Women’s Tennis Association.
Formula One, football’s European and global governing bodies Uefa and Fifa, and a string of broadcasters including beIN Media Group, Telemundo and NBCUniversal, had already complained about BeoutQ.
All of the complainants have claimed that the service is based in Saudi Arabia.
“Suggesting that Saudi Arabia is in any way complicit in beoutQ’s operation both offends the Saudi people and is a malicious lie,” the Saudi Ministry of Media said, according to the Arab News website.
“We are disappointed that representatives of credible tennis associations are being used in the Wimbledon press release as mouthpieces by Al-Jazeera…
“Wimbledon should have checked first instead of parotting allegations emanating from Al Jazeera Media Network and its subsidiary beIN Sports.”
The ministry added: “Wimbledon and the various tennis associations know or should know that beginning in June 2017, the Saudi government banned all broadcasts by Al Jazeera and its affiliates because Al Jazeera is a media platform for terrorists to propagate their violent messages and to promote instability in the region.
“It used beIN Sports’s World Cup broadcasts to defame Saudi Arabia, the Saudi football federation, and national team. For these reasons Al Jazeera, beIN Sports and their affiliates will never again broadcast in Saudi Arabia.
“Given Al Jazeera’s known role in supporting terrorism and its inability to provide any media content in Saudi territory, the ministry urges Wimbledon and the tennis associations to end their relationships with beIN Sports and other Al Jazeera entities.”