Scottish pubs could face serious penalties as part of a nationwide crackdown on illegally showing premiership games, it has emerged.
According to Scotland on Sunday, an investigation has begun that aims to inspect around 2,000 venues between now and May next year following reports that 40 per cent of pubs in Scotland are screening games using foreign satellite channels.
Greig Mailer, a spokesman for the Scottish Premier League, told the newspaper that it was important for the national game to be protected and that they would be working with the English Premiership to achieve their goal.
"We have worked on this issue of illegal reception in pubs and clubs for some time and we have people out and about every week, monitoring pubs and collecting information," he said.
"Already we have had a number of civil actions and have had interdicts issued against several premises."
Earlier this year the Telegraph reported that despite attempts by BSkyB to retain a monopoly on live football, Irish broadcaster Setanta now has 46 games per season leaving BSkyB with 92.
