A USER of Le.com in Shenzhen lodged a lawsuit against the online video website for breaking contract by not providing live broadcasts of the ongoing AFC Champions League.

    The Luohu People’s Court has received the case, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported. It is considered the first lawsuit against the website since it was deprived of the sole broadcasting rights of the soccer league on the Chinese mainland at the end of February.

    The Shenzhen user, named Zhang Hongxin, said that he had purchased a three-month membership at Le.com on Feb. 22 for 159 yuan (US$23) to watch the live broadcasts of the first round of the AFC Champions League.

    However, Le.com said six days later that it had terminated its four-year contract with Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Feb. 28, which disabled its members from watching the games live on the website.

    Le.com signed a four-year deal with AFC in August 2015, costing the website US$110 million. Rumors have it that the contract was terminated because Le.com had failed to pay its latest installment.

    The Daily reported that users who had paid for the sports channel memberships were unable to watch games one day before the official announcement was released. Soccer fans had waited all night only to find a black screen with words suggesting that the game had not started on the evening of Feb. 27.

    Zhang said he had called Le.com’s customer service for refunds several times March 1, but no one answered his calls.

    Zhang demanded that the sports channel give him a full refund and make a public apology on influential media outlets in Shenzhen. He required 1 yuan for mental damage. (Zhang Qian)