Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Football, Premier League, La Liga
Alex Brotherton
A Judge has signed a warrant to reveal the IP addresses of anyone who watched football via an illegals stream.
With top flight European football spread across so many different television broadcasters, fans can end up spending thousands of pounds a year just to watch matches.
That has led to a boom in illegal streaming in recent years, with many people using Smart TV devices like Amazon Fire Sticks running Internet Protocol television (IPTV) to gain access to a wide range of games for a fraction of the cost.
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After broadcasters and leagues complained that they are losing out on huge amounts of revenue, authorities across Europe are ramping up their efforts to crack down on streaming.
Anyone found supplying or using illegal streams is at risk of facing prosecution, although most people don't get caught.
However, a new ruling in Spain could make using illegal streams even riskier.
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As reported by Spanish publication Marca, Commercial Court number eight of Barcelona has passed a new ruling for legal action to be taken directly against users who consume pirated football.
As per the terms of the agreement, internet service providers will be forced to send the IP address of any individual found guilty of illegal streaming directly to La Liga.
Under the previous ruling, only 'public establishments' like restaurants and bars could be prosecuted for illegally streaming football.
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The new ruling means that Spanish football authorities have the right to target residential consumers of their product.
According to Marca, La Liga will be entitled to the following information: IP address assigned to the user; name and surname of the owner who contracted the internet access service; postal address of the line installation and billing and identification document.
Police in the UK have led a crackdown of their own.
This week 11 people - who had been selling illegal access to content including live Premier League matches - were arrested, with 10 interviewed under caution.