Turkish Süper Lig rights-holder beIN Media Group has won an injunction against Fenerbahçe to prevent the club manipulating its logo and branding as part of a campaign against the pay-television broadcaster.
A Turkish court issued an emergency injunction to stop the top flight team from using the ‘beFAIR’ logo in any shape or form, including on club t-shirts, training bibs and apparel, LED advertising banners or 3D carpets on the pitch.
Last week, beIN confirmed it would be taking legal action against Fenerbahçe over a campaign launched against the Qatar-based broadcaster.
The club, which accused beIN of manipulating video assistant referee (VAR) replays by showing unfavourable camera angles and affecting the team’s performance, used the company’s branding in a ‘beFAIR’ slogan. BeIN has denied any wrongdoing and all allegations brought against it.
On Sunday, Fenerbahçe recorded a 1-0 victory over Trabzonspor but the ‘beFAIR’ branding was not in use in the wake of the injunction.
However, the judgement ruled that free or critical speech was allowed, with many supporters of the club taking to social media to express their opinions on the injunction.
The domestic rights are up for renewal at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, when beIN’s agreement expires.
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President, Nihat Özdemir, has confirmed that the tender process will be launched by the end of 2021, and although the organisation would be in favour of extending its agreement with beIN, the deal will have to ‘please the clubs at the maximum level’.