CLAIMS that five pubs have been acting illegally by showing live Premiership matches on foreign satellite channels have been thrown out.

Bolton Wanderers reported the Black Horse, the Willows Hotel, the Volunteer, the New Cabin and the Morris Dancers to Bolton Council, claiming the pubs are close to the Reebok Stadium and that the televised matches are hitting attendances at the ground.

But Bolton Council said it would not be reviewing the licences because the pubs are not "within the vicinity" of the stadium.

And their landlords have insisted they are not breaking the law because they pay subscriptions to the channels.

Wanderers say they are now taking legal advice about the decision.

Under the Licensing Act, a licence review can be applied for if the law is being broken.

A Wanderers spokesman said: "We are disappointed with the council's response and are seeking legal advice and will be replying to the council in due course."

Previously, Wanderer's chief executive Allan Duckworth said the televised matches had become a significant problem over the past 12 to 18 months.

He said the TV broadcasts were also affecting a lot of other licensees in the area, who were not showing the matches, and claimed pubs which paid foreign TV channels for the games and showed them in the UK were breaking the law.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: "We can confirm that we have received review application from Bolton Wanderers and have responded to the club by letter.

"We have received no further correspondence from them as yet but at this stage we have stated that within the meaning of the Licensing Act, we feel the licensed premises are not within the vicinity of the interested party."

Last year, two Bolton landlords won the right to show live Premiership football in their pubs on Saturday afternoons.

The licensees were taken to court after Sky accused them of infringing the Copyright Act.

It followed a ruling by European football's governing body, UEFA, that outlawed showing live Saturday afternoon football, in line with wishes of the Premier League and broadcaster BSkyB.

Pub manager Ian Moss, of The Saddle, in Farnworth, and Enterprise Inns tenant Eile en Flint, who runs the Original Bay Horse in Horwich, argued that they had not broken any laws.

The said they legitimately subscribed to a broadcaster in another country which shows live Premiership football as games were shown across the world.

Both denied dishonesty and were cleared of a breach of copyright.

But a Premier League spokesman said: "There are no rights for the general bar trade to show football games at 3pm on a Saturdays.

"It is illegal, and if people transgress we will take them to court."