Have heard from a very reliable source that Irish and British theme bars have been raided by Canal Plus people in Barcelona and all SKY boxes have been confiscated.Does anyone else know about this

That's not bad news!! It is wonderful news!! Life without Sky is to be totally recommended..you start to live again

Are you having a laugh,this is devastating news for British and Irish businesses.Yet another blow .

I think Canal+ maybe have been p***** off bacause the British bars were showing Spanish games through their Sky system rather than using a licensed Canal box... hence the action.
If things do get tough and Sky is outlawed you can install Freesat - same satellite as Sky. This will give you a similar channel set as Freeview but no Sky Sports. There are a number of satellite providers who show Sport. Some of them with a better selection than Sky - Digitalb and ART to name but two

For fear of censorship "TWADDLE"
Although visiting rocky cragg hermitages and watching footy are both admirable passtimes to me, Salou needs bars full of drinking, cheering,world cup mad punters next summer.
If you prefer a bar without SKY thats your preferrence,but a bar without it would be losing daft money come weekends, and so it is bad news if its true

Sky sports is the blood supply of many bars including mine because we don't do bingo or have entertainment.

If nobody had SKY in Spain anymore it wouldn't be an issue. It would make a difference if some had it and others not. Before SKY all the bars made money, and one shouldn't underestimate a bar owner when it comes to seducing people into his bar (happy hour? LOL)
How long do you think it would take for someone to make an end to an illegal situation? We are not supposed to have SKY in Spain at all, let alone for public viewing.
In England pubs pay up to 3000 pound to have SKY.
Now, let's hope it's just a hoax, but don't be surprised if his get's serious.
PS. the World Cup and the Premiership are shown on many channels, including Spanish, only without the hour long dribble before each game.

Fully agree. Sky is technically illegal in Spain... but I think the issue is what they are using it for. In England I could have a domestic Sky contract and show Spanish football all day long in a public place without any problems but the minute I start showing Premier action FACT, Sky and the EPL will jump very hard on my back. If Spanish bars have been targeted by Canal+ for using Sky to show Spanish football they only have themselves to blame.
There is a court case waiting to be heard in Brussels (estimated hearing date is Spring 2010) to sort all this nonsense out. It has huge implications across the EU for the transmission of sport in general but in terms of money football is the biggest part of the case.
Needless to say Sky want to see any sort of public EPL transmission other than their own banned in Britain. Others say we should have freedom of choice and as we are in a 'free market EU' then so our choice of sports provider should also be competitive. Sky currently have a virtual monopoly on EPL action in the UK. I think they have an unhealthy 'take it or leave' attitude due mainly to this dominant position. Open the doors I say and lets have a good clean fight

I agree with you and while we are on the subject of ending an illegal situation how about bingo or betting on the horses both are totally illegal.

Well in England since 2005 a bookies can now get a license to sell alcohol but a pub still cannot get a license to take bets. Pub bashing yet again. Install an Internet terminal and use Betfair to take the bets. Let them try and unravel that one in the courts.
The Bingo situation has always baffled me. What on earth is wrong with a bit of unlicensed housey, housey here and there. We are not on about huge prizes here with massive stakes. Poker is now allowed in pubs for small stakes, a little like cribbage was in the old days.... why not Bingo?