UEFA granted extension of illegal streaming blocking order

High Court Reporters

UEFA, the governing body for European football associations, has been granted a court order extending for another two years a requirement that internet service providers block illegal streaming of its games.

The order is similar to one granted last week to the Football Association Premier League, also extending the requirement to block the streams for its matches.

Mr Justice Mark Sanfey, head of the Commercial Court, agreed on Monday to an application from the Union Des Associations Europeennes de Football (Union of European Football Associations) for the order.

It extends the blocking order for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 football seasons.

It applies to Eircom trading as eir, Virgin Media Ireland, Sky Ireland/Sky Subscriber Services and Vodafone.

Jonathan Newman SC, for UEFA, said all the defendants were neutral on the application. The providers are "conduits" for the streaming but were not liable for any infringements on their networks, he said.

Counsel said they are required under the order to block IP addresses which are notified to them in a confidential list. The streams are carried on set-top boxes, TV sticks and websites.

This was the fourth extension since the original order, he said.

The list of infringing platforms is published to providers twice during each match, he said.

A very large volume of infringements, running into the hundreds, have been detected, he said.

Mr Justice Sanfey said he was satisfied to grant the order. From the evidence, it was clear there are a very large number of streamers, and the blocking orders provided by the court previously demonstrate their effectiveness, he said.

It was also clear the order also respected the fundamental right of parties, including internet users, notwithstanding the "enormous number that need to the blocked" and the fact that there has been a minuscule number of complaints about the blocking, which were proved to be unfounded, he said.