CAIRO: Angry football fans have demanded refunds and canceled their beIN Sports subscriptions after the Qatari broadcaster suddenly stopped showing matches from Serie A, Italy’s top-tier league.
Online fan groups for big Italian clubs such as Internazionale, Lazio, Milan and Juventus have been inundated with complaints.
“I feel like beIN stole my money,” Tarek, a Milan fan in Egypt, told Arab News. “I renewed my subscription at the beginning of June when the new calendar of Serie A was announced, and I was not notified by beIN that they would stop airing it.
“As a result I missed my team’s win against Lecce and I am very frustrated and disappointed.”
Serie A was suspended in early March because of the coronavirus pandemic. It resumed in mid June, with 12 rounds of 10 matches remaining to be completed. BeIN Sports, which is thought to be in financial difficulty, is believed to have demanded compensation for disruption to its schedules, and been rebuffed.
The company said it had suspended Serie A broadcasts “for legal reasons,” but fans bombarded the beIN website with complaints that the explanation was inadequate.
“I’ve been a customer of yours for several years but I am canceling my subscription, I feel disgusted with your poor service,” Mohammad from Syria wrote.
The Juventus FC fan group on Twitter said: “We demand that beIN explain the Serie A broadcasting issue. We subscribed to watch Serie A, and we demand compensation.”
Lazio4arab, another prominent fan group with thousands of followers, posted: “You pay money to watch your favorite championship, they take your money and yet you are not allowed to watch what you love. Who can compensate the viewers?”
Angry football fans show red card to beIN Sports
https://arab.news/8gnrb
Angry football fans show red card to beIN Sports
- Subscriptions canceled, refunds demanded after Qatari broadcaster suddenly stops showing top-tier Italian league
$1.5m Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Cup draws strong field
- Nasser Mutlaq saddles 4 for Friday feature at King Abdulaziz Racecourse
- Nadem Al-Molwk Al-Khalediah top rated of 11 runners
RIYADH: Trainer Nasser Mutlaq will saddle four runners in this year’s $1.5 million (SR5.6 million) Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Cup, which takes place on Friday at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.
Nadem Al-Molwk Al-Khalediah, ridden by Adel Alfouraidi, is the pick of Mutlaq’s entries for the Group 1 event, which is the jewel in the crown of the two-day Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Arabian Horse Festival.
Despite having run only six times, the 6-year-old has four wins and is top-rated of the 11 runners for the 1,800 meter feature.
Last time out he beat the reopposing French-trained Al Kaaser by four lengths in the G3 Imam Turki bin Abdullah Sword on Dec. 27. Turki Al-Khalediah II and Mutwakel Alkhalediah, which finished third and fourth in that race, and recent winner Mostabsil Al-Khalediah complete the Mutlaq quartet.
Another French raider is Moshrif, trained by Xavier Thomas-Demeaulte, which chased home Tilal AI Khalediah in the G1 Al-Mneefah Cup during last year’s Saudi Cup weekend.
Mutlaq will also be well represented in Friday’s $300,000 Princess Mounira Bint Abdulaziz Bin Musaed Bin Jalawi Cup over 1,600 meters, saddling three of the eight runners.
His trio comprises Bint Ghaliat Al Khalediah, which was second to Tilal AI-Khalediah in Taif in September, Mubarizat Alkhalediah and Maitha Al Khalediah. France will be represented by the Elizabeth Bernard-trained Algheed.
Thursday’s feature is the Group 2 $500,000 Al Khalediah Stable International Cup over 1,600 meters, in which Nawahel Alkhalediah and Nijinski Al Maury stand out in a field of eight after finishing sixth and seventh respectively behind Nadem Al-Molwk Al-Khalediah last month.
Before that will be the inaugural running of the $100,000 Mutlaq bin Moshrif Cup, staged in honor of Nasser Mutlaq’s father, who died last year.
Saturday’s all-thoroughbred card features the 2,400 meter $40,000 Al-Jouf Region Governorate Cup which has a full field of 20 declared and includes two runners for the White Stable of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, headed by jockey Camilio Ospina’s course and distance winner Almaqam.
Also on the card is the $40,000 Ministry of Environment, Water & Agriculture Cup over 1,600 meters for fillies and mares. The British-trained Dance Desire for the Ricardo Ferreira, Thamer Aldaihani, Sheikh Abdullah Homoud Almalek Alsabah combination is top rated.
