Broadcaster of Serie A in France, beIN Sports is giving up broadcasting Atalanta matches, as the Qatari channel announced on Friday. The reason ? The sponsor-shirt of the formation of Bergamo does not have the right to advertise in France. Thus, from Sunday evening, Juventus supporters will not be able to see the shock of their team against the Dea on a French channel…
Communication to the attention of our subscribers pic.twitter.com/7r7BYkFUTg
— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) January 20, 2023
The blow is hard for beIN, which is the subject ofan unprecedented injunction from the French State (from a broadcaster of a foreign championship). The DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control), a department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, ordered beIN Sports France to no longer broadcast Atalanta because of the sponsor- team jersey: Plus 500, a CFD (contracts for difference) trading site.
In France, since 2016, advertising for crypto-currency platforms as well as certain risky financial products – such as CFD trading – has been prohibited in the context of sports competitions, in the same way as tobacco and alcohol. As a reminder, concerning online sports betting, all operators operating in the territory are themselves controlled by the National Gaming Authority.
OM-Atlético, the illegal final
On the occasion of the 2018 Europa League final between OM and Atlético (which had Plus500 as a jersey sponsor from 2015 to 2022), the French Association of Brokers and Investment Service Providers had requested the CSA then the DGCCRF. In November 2020, the Administrative Court of Paris condemned the State, which refused to sanction the broadcasters of the final. A recent appeal prompted the state to finally take action against beIN.
« The reasoning is clear. The retransmission of a match and, on this occasion, the broadcast of a prohibited advertisement must lead to a sanction from the publishers of television services, regardless of whether the match is broadcast live and that its non-retransmission would be disproportionate taking into account the rights acquired TV “, explains Marion Ogier, lawyer in public law, as reported The Parisian.