Pub landlady Karen Murphy has spoken of her joy after defeating the Premier League in a bid to show football matches via a foreign TV decoder.
Mrs Murphy took up her battle against the league after being told she could not use a cheap foreign provider to show games at her pub, The Red White and Blue, in Portsmouth. But the European Court of Justice said the exclusive system was "contrary to EU law", leaving Mrs Murphy thrilled.
She said: "It's been the battle of the little guy - these corporate people feel they can throw money at things and just win."
Mrs Murphy said: "My reaction is relief, excitement, I'm thrilled. It has taken rather a long time, this has been going on for six years, but obviously it's been worth it. It's taken quite a chunk of my life but I'm glad I took it on. It's been like Karen versus Goliath."
Mrs Murphy said she took on the battle because she could not afford the subscription fees.
She said: "I am sure the likes of the FA and Sky will do anything to protect their interests. I don't know how it will pan out, I hope it doesn't go back to the way it was as it's not fair for the customer, it's not a free market.
"I paid £800 for a year's subscription compared to £700 a month for Sky in my small pub. In this climate that's a massive, massive boost to our income, I couldn't afford to have Sky and I couldn't afford to have it again, ever."
Mrs Murphy said the ruling will now return to the High Court which had referred it to the EU for clarification of the law.
The judgment said: "The Court of Justice holds that national legislation which prohibits the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the freedom to provide services and cannot be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums."
The verdict could mean a major rethink by the Premier League of its current exclusive agreements with Sky Sports - which provides the League with most of its television income - and ESPN.
Pub landlady Karen Murphy has spoken of her joy after defeating the Premier League in a bid to show football matches via a foreign TV decoder.
Mrs Murphy took up her battle against the league after being told she could not use a cheap foreign provider to show games at her pub, The Red White and Blue, in Portsmouth. But the European Court of Justice said the exclusive system was "contrary to EU law", leaving Mrs Murphy thrilled.
She said: "It's been the battle of the little guy - these corporate people feel they can throw money at things and just win."
Mrs Murphy said: "My reaction is relief, excitement, I'm thrilled. It has taken rather a long time, this has been going on for six years, but obviously it's been worth it. It's taken quite a chunk of my life but I'm glad I took it on. It's been like Karen versus Goliath."
Mrs Murphy said she took on the battle because she could not afford the subscription fees.
She said: "I am sure the likes of the FA and Sky will do anything to protect their interests. I don't know how it will pan out, I hope it doesn't go back to the way it was as it's not fair for the customer, it's not a free market.
"I paid £800 for a year's subscription compared to £700 a month for Sky in my small pub. In this climate that's a massive, massive boost to our income, I couldn't afford to have Sky and I couldn't afford to have it again, ever."
Mrs Murphy said the ruling will now return to the High Court which had referred it to the EU for clarification of the law.
The judgment said: "The Court of Justice holds that national legislation which prohibits the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the freedom to provide services and cannot be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums."
The verdict could mean a major rethink by the Premier League of its current exclusive agreements with Sky Sports - which provides the League with most of its television income - and ESPN.