Two Britons arrested in Thailand over football streaming

Two British men have been arrested in Bangkok for allegedly selling online access to illegally streamed football broadcasts.

The Premier League said it supported local authorities in investigations that led to arrests on 11 May.

The men were named as William Lloyd, 39 and William Robinson, 35.

They are accused of causing damages worth more than 100 million baht (£2.2m) to the broadcast rights holders.

A third man, who is Thai, was also arrested and named as Supatra Raksasat, 33.

Agents for the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) also seized nine computer servers, nine computers, 49 set-top boxes and three mobile phones.

The three men allegedly sold illegal broadcasts of football matches on the 365sport.tv website, which is currently offline.

Customers of 365sport.tv have discussed problems accessing the site in recent days via online forums.

In a statement, the Premier League said that it had supported Thai police in efforts to crack down on the illegal use of Kodi and IPTV boxes.

"This included a series of raids in Bangkok that targeted several website operators engaged in selling the devices that are pre-loaded with apps that facilitate pirate broadcasts of Premier League football, across South East Asia," the organisation said.

"The Premier League is currently engaged in its largest ever programme to protect its copyright and the legitimate investment made by its broadcasting partners.

"Their contribution allows our clubs to develop and acquire players, invest in facilities and support the wider football pyramid and communities - all things that fans enjoy and society benefits from."

Deputy chief of the DSI, Suriya Singhakamol, said the suspects may also have been involved in transmissions broadcast via Thaiexpat.tv, Hkexpat.tv, Indoexpat.tv, Vietexpat.tx and Euroexpat.tv.

The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office is aware of the situation.

In March, the Premier League secured a court order in the UK that gave it the means to block computer servers used to host illegal streams.

At the time, a spokesman said the organisation was prepared to target pirates in a "precise manner".