Barcelona court authorises Telefónica to block illegal Champions League streams in real time | OneFootball

A Barcelona commercial court has handed Telefónica new real-time powers to shut down pirate football streams across its rights portfolio, extending beyond LaLiga to all content it holds, including the Champions League.

The ruling from Juzgado de lo Mercantil number nine in Barcelona authorises Telefónica Audiovisual Digital, MovistarPlus+, to instruct Vodafone, Digi, MásOrange and Telefónica to block illegal live sports broadcasts for their customers in real time. The measure was first reported by El Economista.

Since December 2024, Telefónica and LaLiga had already been empowered to order blocks on LaLiga matches following a joint legal action. In February, a Córdoba judge widened that to the two main VPN providers, technology pirates had used to skirt blocks.

Other competitions, such as the Champions League and tennis or golf events, had remained outside those protections. The 26 March ruling, made public on Tuesday, now allows MovistarPlus+ to demand blocks on any unauthorised stream of content it owns, and requires service providers to act within 30 minutes of notification.

The order takes effect immediately. MovistarPlus+ can therefore move to stop illegal feeds of this week’s Champions League ties, including Atlético-Barça on Tuesday and Bayern-Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo