5 live Investigates: pub landlady vs Premier League

The FA Cup pairing of Crawley Town with Manchester United might seem like the ultimate David vs Goliath battle - until, that is, you hear about the fight between Portsmouth publican Karen Murphy and the English football establishment. 

Karen claims to be a champion for ordinary fans, as she seeks to overturn a conviction for showing her customers live Premier League matches broadcast by the Greek satellite service Nova, rather than UK-based Sky.

If her appeal to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg is successful, many experts believe that the cost of watching football on television will plummet. We'll get the clearest indication yet of how the case may be decided when the Advocate General offers his legal opinion on Feb 3. 

Ms Murphy told 5 Live Investigates this week: "All I'm saying is that we shouldn't have a monopoly like Sky dictating to a person like me who would like to show football.

"They shouldn't dictate to me that I have to use that company and I have to pay a certain price for it. That's no free trade. I believe we are a democracy and I should be able to have a choice."

So should supporters be donning their lucky match day underwear and crossing their fingers in the hope that Karen wins? 

It's not quite as simple as that.

It is argued that if Karen Murphy wins her case, the commercial viability of English football is on the line because if TV rights have to be sold on a Europe-wide basis - instead of territory by territory - their value will dramatically fall. 

That will make it harder for Premier League clubs to attract and retain top players - as well as jeopardising youth and community schemes.

At its heart the dispute is a simple one.

Can the Premier League insist that UK citizens who wants to watch or screen live matches buys a subscription from Sky or one of their other approved partners like ESPN? 

Or do customers have the right to buy cheaper coverage from another provider elsewhere in the European Union?

So far, Karen has been on the losing side.

An English court ordered her to pay £8,000 in fines and costs for side-stepping Sky and showing Nova's broadcasts to customers at her Red, White and Blue pub.

Now she's taking the match into extra time by appealing to the European Court.

When 5 Live Investigates explored this issue last October, listeners were split between those who welcomed the prospects of cheaper satellite subscriptions, and others who feared that a change in the law could rob English football of a competitive financial edge.

The judgment could prove to be the broadcasters' "Bosman moment", ushering in revolutionary changes - just as a European court ruling in favour of the previously obscure Belgian footballer, Jean-Marc Bosman, led to unprecedented freedom of movement for out of contract players.

Frank Dunne, editor of TVSportsMarkets, who has followed the case, believes a compromise is more likely. He told 5 live Investigates:

"The arguments on either side are so strong, and they are fundamental principles of the European Union. You have the free movement of goods and services on one side, which is Karen's defence, and on the other you have the whole question of copyright protection.



"Both are such powerful arguments, it is really difficult to see a knock out, to use a boxing metaphor. I think it's much likely to be a points decision one way or the other."

UPDATE Thu 3 Feb

Premier League TV football choice 'upheld' by EU advice - BBC News report

Court of Justice of the European Union press release

Adrian Goldberg presents 5 live Investigates, every Sunday, 9-10pm. You can follow the programme on Facebook and Twitter, and download the podcast here.