Investigator admits fans watching illegal Premier League streams are unlikely to be prosecuted

Fans using TV sticks to illegally stream Premier League matches are unlikely to be prosecuted, despite the top flight’s crackdown on piracy, a leading investigator has admitted.

Mail Sport reported on Tuesday that five men have been sentenced to a total of more than 30 years in prison after the Premier League launched a landmark private prosecution to crack down on illegal streaming of matches.

Together, Mark Gould, 36, Steven Gordon, 46, Peter Jolley, 41, Christopher Felvus, 36, William Brown, 33, and Zak Smith, 30, generated more than £7 million between 2016 and 2021 through three pirate streaming organizations that illegally access content on offer, including live Premier League matches.

Their conviction, which marks the world’s largest-ever prosecution of an illegal streaming network, comes after more than 1,000 individuals were issued a warning or visited by police to warn them of the potential consequences of illegally streaming football.

Five men have each been sentenced to 11 years in prison for distributing illegal streams on TV sticks

But according to one of the investigators who played a role in this week’s historic prosecution, fans are unlikely to be charged for simply watching the streams.

“There are ongoing investigations,” Doug Love, Senior Trading Standards Officer at Hammersmith and Fulham Council, said on BBC Radio 5 Live. “This kind of crime must be combated. If left unchecked, sport and society would be unrecognizable

“Consumers are committing a crime by watching the streams if they know they are illegal, but we are looking for distributors.

“I believe some individuals have been approached and given letters telling them to please stop using these streams, but no one is likely to be prosecuted just for watching.”

The illegal streams in question, which are accessible through subscription-based apps on TV Sticks, have also been used to watch other sports and movies, which are closely monitored by the police.

They believe that illegal streaming sites can be linked to organized crime gangs, where advertisements on the internet generate funds.

Speaking of this week’s conviction of five top distributors, Gould said, “It was very much a partnership with this prosecutor. The Premier League came to trading standards after collecting all the initial evidence on lead offender Mark Gould and they asked us to get involved and investigate. We went to Mark Gould’s computers at his house and it went from there.

But a leading investigator admits fans are unlikely to be prosecuted for watching illegal streams of Premier League games

“One of the defendants has been convicted of another crime as a result of the material found on his computers and while we have no evidence that it happened in this case but if you use links and criminal gangs you might open yourself up to to the theft of personal data or identity, you may be facilitating hacking of your computers or dealing with viruses.

“This kind of crime shouldn’t seem so victimless. Without the exposure and revenue of broadcasters, every sport in the UK would look vastly different. It would be of lower quality and have less participation and spectators.

‘For me that would result in a much poorer society. This gang is endangering tens of thousands of consumers and has not paid taxes on the millions of pounds they have made from these crimes.’