Overview
- The Justice Department announced Monday that Operation Offsides seized more than 1,000 internet domains that were used to broadcast 2026 FIFA World Cup matches without authorization.
- The seizures came in three enforcement waves during the tournament and used court‑authorized seizure warrants filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
- Investigators identified targeted sites with help from FIFA and major rights‑holders and, in parallel, the ICHIP‑led Operation Red Card blocked thousands more illegal streams across Latin America and Europe.
- Colombian authorities executed nationwide raids that led to the July 17 arrests of four alleged members of the cybercrime group Los Ciberinfiltrados for illegally accessing telecom systems to sell pirated streams.
- Officials say seized domains now display federal seizure notices, warn that illicit streams can deliver malware or steal payments, and stress that long‑term work will focus on tracing and prosecuting the operators behind the networks.