EFL charge Southampton over Middlesbrough play-offs spy drama | Football | Sport
The EFL have charged Southampton (Image: Getty)
The English Football League (EFL) have charged Southampton with breaching their regulations around attempting to observe another club’s training session after receiving a complaint from Middlesbrough ahead of their Championship play-off semi-final first leg. Boro allege that the Saints unauthorisedly filmed on their private property within 72 hours of their match at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday lunchtime, in breach of EFL Regulation 127, which the league will refer to an independent disciplinary commission.
Southampton have already received a request for their observations on the matter and could have less than the standard 14 days to respond after being charged under EFL Regulations, because the league says it has asked the commission for a shortened response period. The EFL are also calling for a hearing at the earliest opportunity, given the nature of this matter, with the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium scheduled to take place a day after that fortnight response period, which will feature one of the clubs in question.
The EFL statement released at 10pm on Friday reads: “Southampton Football Club has today been charged with a breach of EFL Regulations, and the matter will be referred to an Independent Disciplinary Commission. This follows a request from the EFL for the Club’s observations after a complaint from Middlesbrough relating to alleged unauthorised filming on private property ahead of the two Clubs meeting in Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final First Leg.
“The charges relate to the following Regulations: ”EFL Regulation 3.4, which requires Clubs to act towards each other with the utmost good faith; and EFL Regulation 127, which prohibits any Club from observing, or attempting to observe, another Club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match between the two Clubs.
“Under EFL Regulations, Southampton would ordinarily have 14 days to respond to the charges. However, given the nature of the matter, the EFL will ask the Independent Disciplinary Commission to shorten the response period and to list a hearing at the earliest opportunity. The League will make no further comment whilst proceedings are ongoing.”
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Middlesbrough (Image: Getty)
News of the charge broke during Sky Sports’ post-match coverage of the other Championship play-off semi-final first leg, in which Hull City and Millwall drew 0-0. Television pundits Curtis Davies and Gary Rowett played down its significance to the players and staff involved.
Davies was a Derby County player when Leeds United admitted to spying on his team during the 2018/19 season. The Whites were fined £200,000 for breaking EFL Regulation 3.4, which their then head coach, Marcelo Bielsa, paid himself, and led to the introduction of EFL Regulation 127.
The former Derby defender said:”It’s big enough as it is. If I’m a player in the changing room, all I care about is getting to the Premier League; I don’t care about who was in the bush watching. Concentrate on the game, make sure you’ve got the right game plan to win a few games. The big thing is potentially speeding things up. Do I care if the other team has been fined £200,000? Half a million? A million? It doesn’t make a difference. Let’s just focus on our game, get the job done.”
Rowett agreed: “If you think about it from your point of view (Davies), it gave you extra motivation, so it worked against the team seeking the advantage. These games are so big, it’s just a minor distraction; if you’re a manager, it doesn’t make much difference.”
