Court rules against R. Madrid

A French court has rejected a lawsuit by Real Madrid seeking to stop online betting firms from using its name and images of its players, three of the companies said.

However, Real Madrid said its lawsuit was still alive and that the Paris court only struck down a preliminary injunction, not the whole case.

Spanish online betting firm Miapuesta and British-based William Hill and Ladbrokes said the court threw out the case, which was supported by Real Madrid's top players David Beckham, Raul, Zinedine Zidane and Figo.

A case is still pending in Belgium, the two British companies said. Real Madrid said a related case also continued in Germany, where an injunction against the betting firms was granted in April.

The club had said the companies used the name of Real Madrid and the majority of its players without authorisation and they also used photographs of the footballers in Real Madrid kit.

A statement on the club's website disputed the assertions made by the three defendants.

"In no case is it true that in Paris the lawsuit presented by Real Madrid has been rejected. What has been rejected is the preliminary injunction," the statement said.

Real Madrid said in February it was also taking action against British-based Sportingbet PLC, Sporting Exchange Ltd and Gibraltar's BAW International Ltd and Malta-based Mr Bookmaker.com.