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And Google has already faced legal threats in Europe over copyright law, including a class-action lawsuit brought by England's Football Association Premier League and supported by the Switzerland-based Association of Professional Football Leagues and France's tennis and soccer leagues.
FORBES: Dailymotion Gets Dinged
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The headline-grabbing move in European football was that of unattached player David Beckham to Paris St-Germain in France.
BBC: Premier League January transfers hit ?120m
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In France, Canal Plus, a subscription-based channel, wooed its audience with a formula of football and films.
ECONOMIST: Passion, pride and profit
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His older brother Mathieu played top-flight football in Belgium, while his dad, David, left Cameroon for France as a teenager to play professionally.
CNN: January 23, 2013 -- Updated 1738 GMT (0138 HKT)
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In France, a strike by airport-security personnel stretched into its seventh day, while in London, football club Arsenal postponed its Boxing Day game against Wolverhampton Wanderers by 24 hours because of a planned public-transport strike.
WSJ: Public-Sector Strikes Hit European Holiday Travel
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It was all captured by a special 'Beck Cam' which host broadcaster Canal Plus had deployed to follow every move of the 37-year-old football icon, such has been the level of interest since his transfer to France's Ligue 1 from MLS side LA Galaxy.
CNN: Beckham plays classic cameo role as PSG win Le Classique
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In Spain, France and Italy, some of the countries' best-selling newspapers are given over to sport, and above all football.
ECONOMIST: Passion, pride and profit
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French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes promised to hold a meeting in July to determine responsibility for France's embarrassing World Cup campaign.
BBC: World Cup 2010: Domenech snubs Parreira handshake