JEDDAH: The Asian Football Confederation has canceled the exclusive rights of BeIN Sport to broadcast its football matches in Saudi Arabia.

The decision against the Qatari broadcaster starts with Tuesday’s Asian Champions League match between Saudi side Al-Hilal and Qatar’s Al-Duhail, the Saudi Football Federation said.

The statement said the move brought to an end BeIN’s monopoly over the AFC’s Champions League matches in Saudi Arabia.

The federation said it had received a letter from the AFC stating that the Qatari network’s rights to broadcast the matches in Saudi Arabia had been canceled.

The AFC said the decision is based on communications and legal reasoning that included BeIN’s “illegal broadcasting”, and the “systemic violations it committed against the Kingdom’s regulations.”

It also blamed the network’s inability to extract the necessary licenses to fulfill its obligations to broadcast the matches to its subscribers in Saudi Arabia. 

The Saudi federation said it would offer  a broadcast crew of commentators and analysts and will work out the necessary technical arrangements to help cover the matches.