PREMIER LEAGUE fans are braced for a crackdown on illegal steams with an IPTV “piracy shield” potentially coming into play.

Inter Protocol Television (IPTV) technology allows supporters to access top-flight games for free via illegal streams.

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Many use it as a way to bypass the 3pm blackout on a Saturday, while also avoiding the huge subscription fees demanded by the likes of Sky Sports and TNT Sport.

However, those that do are in breach of the Fraud Act 2006.

It could even result in jail time, with one man locked up for two-and-a-half years for selling illegal firesticks.

And authorities could be set to clamp down further by potentially implementing an IPTV “Piracy Shield.”

It is already live in Italy, with 114 illegal streaming sites and 528 IP addresses blocked so far since February.

It can reportedly target DNS (Domain Name System) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) services that normally go undetected.

And the shield is also able to remove illegal stream results from search engines.

Italian authorities are already hailing it as a huge win for national cybersecurity.

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And it could yet be rolled out in the UK.

There are no official plans for the software to come into force just yet.

But one UK barrister has warned fans to be wary if streaming illegally.

Lynette Calder said: “For more serious and organised offending that went to the Crown Court, you are talking up to a maximum of 10 years in prison if the charge is under section 7, or five years for section 6 and 11.

“Why take the risk? If you can’t afford the streaming service for Premier League, then why not find yourself a pub that can.”