beIN Sports reaches Saudi agreement?
October 7, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Reports out of Qatar suggest that the long-running and bitter dispute between beIN Sports and pirates allegedly working within Saudi Arabia has been settled.
Saudi Arabia has “banned” Qatar-based beIN in the Kingdom for some four years and in direct contravention of most sports’ governing bodies, while the beoutQ piracy operation has cost beIN Media million in lost revenues.
FIFA, the AFC, UEFA, the Bundesliga, LaLiga, Lega Serie A, LFP and the Premier League all condemned the pirates and Saudi Arabia for their actions.
The dispute pulled in similar bans from Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain and escalated to a major political rift within the Gulf Cooperation Council where Qatar is a founding member.
However, beIN Media has yet to confirm that an agreement has been reached.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly paid more than $1 billion in compensation to settle the dispute.