Former Celtic player seeks £1.8m over TV dispute

FORMER Celtic player Harry Hood is suing the Scottish Premier League for £1.8 million after they stopped him showing live matches in his pub via Polish channel Polsat.

The 68-year-old publican was hit with a writ by SPL lawyers after paying £1,500 for a satellite that picks up fixtures on TV signals meant for Poland.

League chiefs said it was illegal for Saturday afternoon matches to be shown live here and in 2006 took the former striker to court to block the screenings.

Hood’s pub company Lisini gave an undertaking not to show any more games at Angels Hotel in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, but now claim a recent ruling from the European Court of Justice shows they had not acted unlawfully.

The Parkhead hero is now seeking Pounds 1,761,749 million in damages at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The European court case involved Karen Murphy, a pub landlady in Portsmouth, who won the right to screen English Premier League football using pictures from a Greek company instead of subscribing to Sky.

Sky claims exclusive rights to show certain games in the UK, but the European Court ruled that was contrary to European Union law.

On Monday, Lord Woolman rejected a request by the SPL to throw out Hood’s claim and said the case should proceed given the European ruling.

In a written ruling, he said: “In my view the English Premier league case has an important bearing on the present action.

“The material facts are virtually identical. The European Court of Justice gave clear answers to the precise questions referred to it.

“Its decision means that subscribers in member states are entitled to access broadcast signals from other member states.

“An EC citizen living in, say, Germany should not be prevented from obtaining a signal from Sky, BBC, RAI, Nova or Polsat.

“In my view the ECJ has held that the object of such agreements is to restrict competition. That is enough to provide Lisini with a prima facie case.”

Hood, who played for Celtic during the 1970s, showed three matches on Saturday afternoons at Angels before SPL chiefs took legal action over breach of copyright.

The SPL had awarded Polish broadcaster Polsat rights to show the games there after Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc signed for Celtic. Speaking about the case in 2007, Hood said: “I have given an undertaking that the screenings will end.

“I got the satellite because a pub close to me had installed it and I was beginning to lose trade as a result.

“The people who supply the equipment insist it is legal - but the SPL are saying it is not. I just feel they have gone about it in a very heavy-handed way - it is bullying, really.

“If there is doubt over the legality of these games then why will the SPL not enter into dialogue with the Licensed Trade Association?

“That way, everyone would know where they stand. Instead, some pubs are taken to court and some are not.”

Hood did not fight the decision at the time but has now launched his claim for damages in light of the European ruling.

The time between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays is deliberately kept free of TV football to encourage fans to go to the games.

Last night an SPL spokesman said: “This is a case that has been ongoing for some years.

“The SPL continues to protect its position in this matter. Giving the ongoing nature of the litigation, the SPL cannot comment further at this time.”