KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Football League (MFL) has strongly condemned the illegal live streaming of Super League matches and is prepared to work with the government to put an end to this recurring issue.
The governing body’s response follows several instances over the past few years where various illegal local and international websites have been streaming weekly Super League matches.
Speaking to Scoop, newly appointed MFL CEO Giorgio Pompili Rossi said that with national broadcaster RTM and Astro doing their best to provide quality football content for fans, it is unfair for illegal websites to steal their content.
It is understood that streaming matches on social media platforms or websites is prohibited under Section 43AA of the 1987 Copyright Act. The exclusive rights to broadcast M-League matches currently belong to Astro and RTM.
“MFL is strongly against illegal live streaming and all sorts of illegal platforms. We must protect our product as much as we can, and illegal streaming breaches the law.
“Astro and RTM work hard to deliver the best service for all Malaysian football lovers, and doing something illegal is never the right solution.
“We will continue reporting any promotion of illegal websites and will explore further actions with the broadcasters and the government to stop it,” Rossi said when contacted.
It was reported that Indonesian sports websites bolasport.com and bola.net garnered a total of 583,910 views from illegally streaming Super League matches last season.
Recently, it was also reported that Super League side Kelantan Darul Naim was fined RM 5,000 by MFL for illegally live-streaming matches on their official Facebook page.
MFL has also issued a stern warning to Kelantan, cautioning that severe penalties will follow if the offence is repeated.
Aside from the illegal live streaming of football matches that have plagued the local league, this issue has also been a problem faced by renowned football leagues around the world, such as the English Premier League and La Liga, over the past five years.
It was reported that international broadcasters such as Sky Sports, BT Sport, BeIN Sports, and NBC Sports have lost as much as a total of US$28.3 billion (RM121.4 billion) a year due to illegal streams conducted by TotalSportek, whose domain is based in Tonga and the British Indian Ocean Territory.
TotalSportek, established in 2015, has currently been blocked in countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and several Asian countries, including Malaysia.
It was reported that Paul Faulkner, an illegal English streamer, was given a 16-month prison sentence at Liverpool Crown Court in the summer of 2021 for stealing Sky Sports content and offering illegal access to Premier League and La Liga football.
Faulkner pleaded guilty to multiple copyright and fraud offences and was ordered by the court to pay a penalty of £963,000 (RM5.5 million) to Sky Sports. – October 8, 2024