A victory for Canal +, synonymous with new chaos for French football?
Two weeks before the resumption of the Ligue 1 Championship, the Nanterre commercial court ruled this Friday afternoon in favor of the encrypted channel in the dispute between it and beIN Sports, according to sources close to the broadcasters at AFP.
Canal + can get rid of its sub-license contract of 332 million euros per year, for two league matches (Saturday at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.), signed in 2018 with the Qatari-born broadcaster until 'in 2024.
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Since mid-June and the allocation by the Professional Football League (LFP) of 80% of L1 matches to Amazon for 250 million euros, the encrypted channel had announced its intention to
"withdraw from Ligue 1" ,
and therefore no longer pay beIN Sports, which took him to court.
Does the court ruling signal the start of another battle?
Indeed, beIN Sports does not seem to intend to pay its bill to the LFP.
Even though the first installment, in the amount of 56 million euros, is expected on August 5.
The justice, however, conditioned a return to normal contractually if the Qatari channel initiates proceedings against the LFP, which Canal + had requested in vain.
"
The chaos continues,
" summed up one of the sources.