Sports

TV fraud gang ordered to repay £3.75m for illegally streaming Premier League matches

Published

58 minutes ago

May 1, 2026

Five members of a gang who were sent to prison for illegally streaming Premier League games have been ordered by the court to return their profits, worth £3.75m.

In May 2023, Mark Gould, described by the judge as the driving force behind the illegal streaming service Flawless TV, and four other members, were sentenced to more than 30 years in prison between them, in what was the world’s largest piracy sentencing.

Their business involved more than 50,000 customers and resellers, as well as 30 employees, with the operation generating in excess of £7m between 2016 and 2021.

Gould, originally sentenced to 11 years in prison, was this week ordered by Derby Crown Court to forfeit the proceeds of his criminal activities and return £2.35m within three months or face a further prison sentence of 10 years.

Similar proceedings have been instigated against four other defendants from the case who were ordered to pay back a total of more than £1.4m or also risk longer prison sentences.

The total sum of £3.75m is the second largest figure ordered in the UK against the operators of an illegal streaming service.

The money will be distributed back into the public purse with 50% to the Treasury and 50% to bodies involved in the prosecution, including the courts, the prosecuting authority and the financial investigators.

The sentencing and the subsequent confiscation proceeding came about after a rare private prosecution by the Premier League, supported by a number of organisations including Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Trading Standards team and the intellectual property protection organisation, FACT.

Sports

Kai Havertz: What does the future hold for Arsenal’s Germany forward

Published

1 minute ago

May 1, 2026

qasimgillani

Havertz has said that this season is not what he “expected it to be” and has been “stop and start”.

The 26-year-old also said earlier this campaign that it was a new experience going through a major injury and he “hasn’t really faced a challenge like this before”.

He looked disappointed by the latest setback when he was taken off after just 34 minutes of Saturday’s 1-0 win against Newcastle United.

The Gunners have been criticised for their attacking play this season and their reliance on set-piece goals.

Havertz is one of Arteta’s favourite players on and off the pitch and they have missed his ability to link play.

Since his return he has played as both a midfielder and a forward, and Arteta has missed having that versatility when Arsenal are trying to break sides down.

Havertz has three goals and one assist in five Champions League games this season and scored the winner in Arsenal‘s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Sporting.

He has only started one game in Europe though, against Kairat Almaty in January, but came off at half-time as he built up match fitness.

Despite his availability issues, Havertz has five goals and four assists in 20 appearances, giving him a goal involvement of nearly one every two games which highlights how Arsenal miss him when unavailable.

But they have not been able to call on him nearly enough and Havertz has been restricted to just six starts in the Premier League.

As the season has progressed, there have been doubts about whether Gyokeres is the right fit for Arsenal, particularly against elite opposition.

When Havertz was fit, he started and scored against Manchester City, with Gyokeres on the bench in what was a glimpse at what would likely have been Arteta’s strategy for big games if the German was fit more often.

Havertz scored by pressing City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, and without his work-rate and intelligence for large parts of this season, the Arsenal attack has looked clunky at times.