Licensee beats FA in closed period battle
The FA Premier League has suffered a rare court defeat over a pub screening of Premiership football in the Saturday afternoon "closed period".
Magistrates in Bolton said pub manager Ian Moss, of the Saddle, in Farnworth, Greater Manchester, did not personally act dishonestly by showing the match because he ran the premises on behalf of the owners.
No bearingMedia Protection Services (MPS), which brought the prosecution for the Premier League, said this was an isolated case with no bearing on the legality of closed-period screenings.
Solicitor Joe Egan, who defended Moss, said the court ruled his client had not been personally dishonest because he was a manager running the premises for the owners.
No fee applicableThe Saddle is operated by a small firm, Anchor Inns, based at Westhoughton near Bolton.
"My client did not intentionally avoid paying a fee because the Premier League does not negotiate fees with individual pubs, so no fee was applicable. He did not deliberately avoid paying it," said Egan.
MPS managing director Ray Hoskin said he accepted the court's decision but that it carries no weight in the overall legal position.
"It is only the second time in two years that a case has gone against us and our position is that any licensee screening a Premiership game during the closed Saturday afternoon period is doing so illegally," Hoskin added.
The Saturday afternoon closed period is between 2.45pm and 5.15pm.
For more on this story see this week's Morning Advertiser.
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