More than a thousand hospitality establishments condemned for broadcasting LaLiga illegally

LaLiga There are more than a thousand convictions against HORECA establishments that commit audiovisual fraud, which endorse the criminal nature of these crimes. Currently there are 295 cases that are already in the investigation phase, and another 133 that are pending trial.

It should be noted that 86% of the proceedings in which a trial is held end with a conviction. This ratio, which involves achieving a favorable sentence every two days, is the result of the change in strategy that LaLiga carried out in January 2019, when it began to report criminals suspected of committing audiovisual fraud, through criminal means, as a measure to combat a scourge that represents annual losses for football clubs of about 600 million euros.

This same season, LaLiga verifiers have been able to identify at least 15,000 establishments emitting illegally, incurring not only criminal conduct against the Clubs, but also unfair competition against establishments that do comply with the law. This results in double damage: against football and against the hospitality sector in our country, which represents losses of almost 35 million euros per year.

Additionally, last season alone (2023/24) judicial proceedings have been directly initiated against another 738 public establishments without the need to file a police report, as a result of the verification work carried out by LaLiga auditors who document in person the existence of the fraud. Furthermore, LaLiga's activity transcends borders by having presented more than twenty complaints in the Principality of Andorra.

LaLiga has the equipment, technology and knowledge necessary to face this fight, but it is necessary legal tools that allow content to be blocked quickly and agilely during the match, and not once the live event has finished.