Streaming Live Football In The UK Just Got A Lot Harder

“Anyone got a stream of the game? Asking for a friend.”

Visuals blockier than Tron; Arabic commentary which inevitably involves someone collapsing a lung to shout “GOOOOOOAAAALLLL” for 40 seconds; more pop-ups than an East London music festival – seriously, it’s any wonder why they bother.

But they do, and you're about to see even more stream-hunters clogging up your social media feeds following news that three of the most contentious websites - Rojadirecta, LiveTV, Drakulastream – have just been banned by UK browsers. This trio of offenders racked up thousands of UK visitors per week, which is why they've now been added to a ‘blocklist’ after legal work from the Premier League and the FA, with more bans to follow. 

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Under new rules imposed on internet service providers, 128 streaming websites will eventually be banned - along with eBook sharing sites - as the Premier League clamps down on match day piracy after its bank vault-bursting £5bn record TV rights deal.

So, if you are the sort of football fan who prefers to stream the big games, you might want to flee to somewhere abroad with a decent broadband connection and disregard for the prosperity of football.

We suggest FIFA’s HQ in Switzerland.

[Via: The Independent]

[Images: Rex, Shutterstock]