Publican fined for showing premiership football games illegally

A County Derry publican has appeared before court for showing premiership football matches illegally. Peter Doherty (unknown age), whose address was given as Main Street, Bellaghy was charged with two counts of dishonestly receiving a TV broadcast service when he appeared before Magherafelt Magistrates’ Court this morning. The court was told that on October 24, checks on his licensed premises found that the Barclay Premiership match between Arsenal and Everton was being broadcast live on a television screen. The Sky Sports logo was shown at the top of the screen however the pint glass bug which confirms commercial subscription, was not displayed at the bottom of the screen. The court was told that there were 23 people on the premises on this occasion. The court also heard that during a second visit to the public house on December 5, it was found that the premiership game between Chelsea and Bournemouth was being shown live. Once again the Sky Sports logo was displayed at the top of the screen but the pint glass icon was not. On this occasion there was said to be 30 people in the bar. Further enquiries found that Doherty did not have the proper commercial subscription to Sky Sports. A defence solicitor told the court that the publican’s subscription ‘had lapsed’ during a period of renovation. However the solicitor confirmed that the defendant’s subscription to Sky Sports has now been ‘reactivated and renewed.’ District Judge Alan White fined Doherty £500 for the offences. The defendant was also ordered to pay legal costs of £70.