The scene "appears to be set" for a legal standoff between Spanish broadcaster Mediapro and Serie A after a Milan court confirmed the earlier suspension of the sale of Serie A rights to the company, according to Stuart Thomson of DIGITAL TV EUROPE. A panel of three judges confirmed the May 9 decision of Judge Claudio Marangoni to uphold pay-TV broadcaster Sky Italia’s complaint against the league’s award of rights to top-tier Italian football to Mediapro, "leading the Spanish group to conclude that the terms under which the rights had been offered to it by the league were non-compliant with Italian rules." Mediapro said that the ruling meant that it had "effectively been sold the rights in a way that did not conform with the country’s laws." The ruling in Milan is "still subject to an appeal" before the Lazio administrative regional court. The league earlier revoked its award of rights to Mediapro on the grounds that the Spanish broadcaster "failed to provide guarantees that were promised," but said that it would retain the €64M ($75.2M) deposit paid by the broadcaster (DIGITAL TV EUROPE, 6/12).
