Roy Keane’s future son-in-law punished in Southampton Spygate verdict | Football | Sport
It was confirmed on Tuesday that an independent panel found Tonda Eckert’s side guilty of spying on Boro ahead of their play-off semi-final fixtures. The EFL announced Southampton also admitted to spying on Championship opponents Ipswich Town and Oxford United earlier in the campaign. Harwood-Bellis – who is engaged to one of Roy Keane’s daughters, Leah – has played a prominent role in what might have been Southampton’s return to the Premier League. However, the one-time England international was heavily criticised for his actions during the play-off second-leg win over Middlesbrough.
The centre-back went out of his way to get in Morris’ face by mocking the Spygate storyline that marred the fixture. He could then be seen laughing in Morris’ face as he went to join in with his team-mates’ celebrations.
Except Middlesbrough now appear set to have the last laugh after being reinstated to the Championship play-off final. They’re now set to face Hull City at Wembley on Saturday to determine who will become the third team promoted to the Premier League this term.
That’s assuming the result of Southampton’s appeal doesn’t result in any further changes to the fixture. The appeal will be heard on Wednesday, with the EFL already acknowledging this could result in further alterations to this weekend’s Wembley blockbuster.
Harwood-Bellis was also critiqued for his fall-out with Boro defender Luke Ayling during the play-off semi-final at St. Mary’s. The former is alleged to have mocked Ayling for his speech impediment, which resulted in a brief scuffle between the two sets of players.
Referee Andy Madley briefly stopped play during the second-leg fixture to notify both coaches of what was being alleged. Harwood-Bellis and Ayling appeared to make up as the latter reportedly didn’t want to take matters any further.
However, the accusations combined with Harwood-Bellis’ crass celebrations didn’t make for a good look at the time. And one could surmise justice has been served if Middlesbrough do end up advancing to face Hull this weekend.
The Teessiders are aiming to get back to the Premier League for the first time in a decade, having not featured in England’s top flight since 2017. Kim Hellberg’s side beat Hull 4-1 at the MKM Stadium in December but lost the return fixture 1-0 at home less than a month later.
