Sky has issued a strong criticism of Amazon, insisting the tech giant must take more decisive action to tackle the escalating “crisis” of sports piracy fueled by illegal IPTV services.

Sky points out that these illicit streaming platforms—many of which rely on hacked Fire TV Sticks as their delivery method—are costing broadcasters “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

In a move that may frustrate many legitimate Fire TV users, Sky is urging Amazon to restrict the ability to sideload apps directly onto streaming devices. While sideloading enables legal customization as well as access to illegal streams, Sky views it as one of the primary enablers of piracy.

Speaking at the FT Business of Football Summit, Sky Chief Operating Officer Nick Herm was blunt, claiming Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks are responsible for “probably about half of the piracy” of Premier League football in the UK alone.

“If you speak to friends and colleagues, you watch football, people will know that you can get jail-broken Fire Sticks, and you can access pirated services on Fire Sticks,” Herm told the audience.

Sky executives say the problem has become so widespread that Fire TV devices are now synonymous with illegal streaming in some circles.

They even claim football fans have started chanting “we’ve got our Fire Sticks” at matches, with Herm adding: “There are football fans who literally have shirts printed out that say Fire Sticks on them.”

The most contentious part of Sky’s demands is their proposed solution. Herm directly urged Amazon to “lock down or impose controls and restrictions on sideloading unofficial apps.”

This request is significant because sideloading is highly valued by legitimate Fire TV users, who use it to install useful apps not available in Amazon’s official store—without any involvement in piracy.

Herm criticized Amazon’s approach so far, stating, “With some of the tech giants, Amazon in particular, we do not get enough engagement to address some of those problems, where people are buying these devices in bulk.”