Southampton have been charged with breaching EFL regulations after a member of their staff was suspected of spying on Middlesbrough training ahead of their play-off match against Thailand.
Sky Sports News understands that Boro staff spotted the man taking pictures and videos of him training and approached him.
He was asked to remove them and reveal his identity and intentions for being there, at which point he allegedly fled to a nearby indoor portion of the training facility.
It is said that he then attempted to change his appearance before leaving Rockcliffe for good.
“Southampton Football Club has today been charged with a breach of EFL regulations and the matter will be referred to an independent disciplinary committee,” the EFL said in a statement.
“This follows a request from the EFL to observe the club following a complaint from Middlesbrough regarding allegations of unauthorized filming on private property before the two clubs meet in Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final first leg.”
“Under EFL regulations, Southampton are normally required to respond to charges within 14 days. However, given the nature of the matter, the EFL will ask the Independent Disciplinary Commission to shorten the response period and hold a hearing at the earliest opportunity.”
This violation relates to EFL Rules 3.4 and 127.
Rule 3.4 states: “In all matters and dealings relating to the League, each Club shall act with the utmost good faith towards each other and towards the League.”
EFL rules strictly prohibit opponents from spying on training sessions up to 72 hours before kick-off, and were introduced in response to the 2019 ‘Spygate’ scandal.
Seven years ago, Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted sending an agent to spy on Derby County, and Leeds were fined £200,000 following an investigation.
EFL Rule 127 relates to “Prohibited Conduct – Observation of Training Sessions” and states: “Without prejudice to the requirement of Rule 3.4 (that each club shall act towards the other club with the utmost good faith), no club shall directly or indirectly observe (or attempt to observe) a training session of another club in the 72 hours before a scheduled match between each club.”
Boro face Southampton in the first leg of the play-off semi-final at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday lunchtime, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Saturday, May 9th 11:30am
12:30pm kickoff
Southampton respond to EFL accusations
Southampton said in a statement: “Southampton Football Club has confirmed the statement made by the EFL regarding the alleged breach of EFL rules.
“I can confirm that we will fully cooperate with the league through this process.
“Given the ongoing nature of the matter, the club is unable to comment further at this time.”
“Spygate” version 2? Explaining what happened to Leeds in 2019
The last time a team was accused of spying on an opponent’s training was in January 2019 when Derby County claimed that Leeds United backroom staff were spotted watching training.
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Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa held a remarkable press conference, giving journalists a 70-minute PowerPoint detailing his analysis of the opposition.
Leeds manager Bielsa later admitted that he had sent members of his coaching team to spy on Derby’s training sessions.
Leeds subsequently apologized, but the EFL found them guilty of breaching rule 3.4.
Leeds were fined £200,000 and disciplined by the EFL. As a result, Rule 127 was introduced.
EFL chief executive Sean Harvey said: “This sanction highlights just how unacceptable this type of behavior is and will provide a clear deterrent to any club attempting to engage in misconduct in the future.”
“Players won’t care about Spygate.”
Curtis Davies was part of the Derby team that was the subject of the original ‘Spygate’ drama, but the former defender believes the situation will not affect the players going into the game.
“If I’m a player in the dressing room, all I care about is getting to the Premier League,” Davies said after Hull’s 0-0 draw with Millwall in the other play-off semi-final.
“I don’t care who’s been watching practice in the bushes. I just want to focus on the game, make sure we have the right game plan for Wembley, win a few games for Wembley and then win.”
“We are talking about the possibility of speeding up the process. Would we care if the other team was fined £200,000, £500,000, £1 million? That makes no difference.
“The important thing is just to go to the game and not make excuses for what happened. Let’s just focus on our job and get the job done on the pitch.”
Meanwhile, Leicester City manager Gary Rowett suggested it could backfire for Southampton, referring to how Derby defeated Leeds when the two teams later met in the play-offs.
“It actually gave the (2019) Derby team momentum and extra motivation, so in some ways it actually worked against teams that were trying to take advantage,” he said.
“As everyone says, these games are very important. In some ways it’s a small distraction when you’re out on the pitch and when you’re the manager. I don’t think it makes too much of a difference.”
