EFL and SPFL probe Russian broadcasts after Football TV airs matches

The English Football League and the Scottish Professional Football League have opened investigations and are considering legal action after discovering that Russia’s Football TV streamed several of their matches in Russia this season, including games from the opening two rounds of the EFL and Scottish Premiership fixtures.

Both leagues stopped selling broadcast rights in Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 and have not issued rights packages there since; before that interruption the EFL had a rights contract with Football TV and the Scottish Premiership was shown on Match TV, while the Premier League suspended its Russian broadcasts at the same time with rights held by Okko Sport.

The EFL said it contacted Football TV last week after being alerted that several games had been shown in Russia, citing Cardiff’s 1-1 draw with Wrexham last Monday and Watford’s 2-1 win over Southampton the previous day as among those broadcasts.

Despite that complaint, Football TV also aired live coverage of West Ham v Charlton and West Brom v Burnley this past weekend, with those fixtures listed on the service as test events, prompting concerns the platform may seek to show Premier League content.

Football TV, a Russian subscription and streaming service, promoted several Scottish Premiership matches, including fixtures featuring Celtic, Rangers and Hearts, on its Telegram channel over the past two weekends.

The EFL and SPFL say their priority is to stop the unauthorised transmissions and to identify the source of the pirated feeds; both organisations reserve the right to take legal action against Football TV and whoever supplied access to the matches, and an SPFL source said the league was investigating the matter in conjunction with its broadcasting distribution rights holder, Infront. The EFL and SPFL declined to comment.

Investigations are ongoing and the leagues are pursuing measures to halt the broadcasts and establish the supply chain for the footage, with the potential for legal proceedings against Football TV or third parties supplying the content.