World Cup and Euro games to remain on free TV

Major international football matches will continue to be shown on free-to-air TV stations after a European court ruled that Fifa and Uefa - football's governing bodies - cannot sell the rights to the highest bidder.

The ruling supports the British government's policy of designating certain sporting events as 'crown jewels'.

Fifa and Uefa had argued that the current system prevented them from selling the rights for the World Cup and European Championships for the best price and infringed their property rights.

But the ruling by the European General Court means that an EU member state can prohibit the exclusive broadcast of games at those two events on pay-TV.

The court said: "The United Kingdom's categorisation of all World Cup and Euro matches... as 'events of major importance' for their societies [is] compatible with European Union law."

Read a full report at the BBC ·