The gang, which sold cut-price subscriptions, made more than £7m from 50,000 subscribers.

The Premier League brought a private prosecution and the sentencing follows a trading-standards investigation.

The personal details of many of those who paid for Flawless TV are now in the hands of investigators.

The gang's "prime mover", Mark Gould, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The operation developed apps offering Premier League matches and other content, which ran on phones and smart TVs. The case has highlighted a demand for illegal streaming created by the unavailability of many football matches on TV.

The Premier League is cracking down on illegal football streaming, but fans who subscribe to these services could be putting themselves at risk.

Fans who subscribe to these services are contributing to organised crime and potentially putting themselves in danger.

Streaming sites themselves are riddled with malware and pornography, and subscribers could be at risk of having their personal information stolen or being hacked.

The Premier League has been successful in taking down 590,000 streams in 2021, but the fight against copyright theft is ongoing.

The Premier League's legal team will now pursue other illegal streaming operators, and the investigation into the Flawless gang continues with the aim of seizing the illegal money they made.

The Premier League's substantial financial contribution to the football pyramid is made possible through the ability to sell broadcast rights, and the league will continue to protect its rights and its fans by investigating and prosecuting illegal operators at all levels.