LaLiga Hails Blocking Of Rojadirecta In Denmark

September 11, 2019

The streaming service Rojadirecta has been judged as illegal and will now be blocked by Danish internet providers, following an operation by LaLiga and RettighedsAlliancen.

The internationally popular service, which at the time of the proceedings of the case had 19,000 Danish visitors in just one month, has allowed users to stream live football matches, including matches to which the Spanish football league La Liga holds the rights. 

In this case, it has also been emphasized that the purpose of linking to the football matches in question has been to attract traffic in order to gain financial profit through ad revenue. According to RettighedsAlliancen it is typically football that draws users to illegal streams and which form the basis of advertising revenue and data for criminal offenders.

A total of nine live sports services were judged illegal earlier this year and were blocked, following a case brought by LaLiga in cooperation with RettighedsAlliancen. The verdict was the first of its kind in Denmark and addresses the widespread distribution of sports matches on illegal services.

Recognition of the blocking system as an enforcement tool

According to Maria Fredenslund, CEO of RettighedsAlliancen, it is rare that representatives of indicted services appear in court and be heard, even though they are always provided with information and called to appear during the case. The fact that Rojadirecta did appear at the hearing, without changing the verdict, underlines that the blocking system is functioning appropriately. 

“Rojadirecta appeared in court and presented a defence but was convicted and blocked nonetheless – just like other illegal services. It stands to confirm that the blocking system works even if it is challenged, and of course we are very pleased with this,” Fredenslund said.

Melcior Soler, the director of LaLiga’s audiovisual department from, explained why this result is important for LaLiga: “We are very satisfied with how the process ended. Blocking one of the best-known pirated content sites is a very important achievement. With this victory we feel more protected, as do our broadcasters, and also our audiovisual value”.

Also a victory for users

Blocking live sports services is not only a victory for the rightsholders, but also for the users, according to Fredenslund who added: “When navigating on illegal services, studies show that there is an increased risk of being affected by malware because the criminal offenders who operate the services do not prioritize the safety of users, but merely their own financial gain.”

The protection of rights therefore goes hand in hand with user security on the Internet.