Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo has issued a strong warning to fans engaging in illegal football streaming, asserting that the sport “is being killed” by this issue.
Illegal streaming has become a significant challenge across Europe’s top five leagues, with the rise of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) further exacerbating the problem. A YouGov poll from last year revealed that one in ten Britons now relies on illegal broadcasts to watch sports, a trend that is also prevalent in Italy.
According to a report by TorrentFreak, Serie A officials believe that taking legal action against those involved is the only effective solution, and they are seeking support from the Italian government and prosecutors. In an interview with Italian outlet Il Mattino, De Siervo expressed his determination to combat the issue.
“Football is being killed, but in the end, we will win this battle. It’s either them or us,” he stated.
De Siervo emphasized that not only are the providers of these illegal services at risk of legal consequences, but advancements in technology now allow for the tracking of the fans watching these streams.
TorrentFreak reports that as part of a recent crackdown in Italy, 5,018 IP addresses and 16,523 domain names have already been blocked, yet these efforts have not significantly reduced illegal streaming activities.
“There is a connection between the hacker providing the IPTV service and the client watching it; now we need to trace the end user and hold them accountable. The rules are in place,” De Siervo explained.
He further argued that a true fan would not resort to watching pirated matches, as doing so harms their club. “This is a cultural issue, not merely related to ticket prices,” he added.
De Siervo continued, stressing the importance of match sales for maintaining modern football: “We are also targeting search engines that are, in some ways, complicit in this issue.”
While some fans dismiss the threat of illegal streaming, De Siervo highlighted the staggering revenue losses attributed to piracy, stating, “We’re losing 300 million euros, which is about 30 percent of the TV rights value due to piracy. This is damaging football at its core because the old patrons who absorbed financial losses are gone; every euro earned is spent.”
He concluded with a passionate call to action: “We have the football we deserve, but this parasitic system that enables free viewership must be dismantled. Otherwise, football itself will suffer—it’s either them or us.”
Credit: Sport Bible
