The English Football League (EFL) has formally charged Southampton for allegedly spying on Middlesbrough ahead of their Championship play-off semi-final clash this Saturday.
According to BBC Sport, a performance analyst from Southampton is accused of recording Middlesbrough’s training and capturing images of their tactical setup on Thursday morning.
Following the incident, the Southampton employee was reportedly discovered, deleted the footage, and exited the vicinity, leading to outrage from the Teesside club, who subsequently reported the matter to the EFL.
“Southampton Football Club has been charged with breaching EFL regulations, and this issue will be forwarded to an independent disciplinary commission,” the EFL stated in a release on Friday evening.
“This follows a request for the club’s account after Middlesbrough’s complaint regarding alleged unauthorized filming on private property, in advance of the two teams’ meeting in Saturday’s semi-final first leg.”
The Saints face accusations of violating two specific regulations:
EFL Regulation 3.4 requires clubs to act with the utmost good faith towards one another, while EFL Regulation 127 forbids clubs from observing or attempting to observe another club’s training session within 72 hours before a scheduled match.
“Typically, Southampton would have 14 days to respond to these charges under EFL regulations,” the statement continued. “However, due to the seriousness of the situation, the EFL will request that the independent disciplinary commission expedite the response period and convene a hearing at the earliest possible time.”
Southampton acknowledged the EFL’s statement concerning alleged regulation breaches, stating, “We confirm that we will fully cooperate with the league throughout this process. Due to the ongoing situation, the club cannot provide any further comments at this time.”
The first leg of the semi-final will take place at Riverside Stadium on Saturday at 12:30 BST, with the return leg scheduled for Tuesday at St Mary’s.
The regulation against spying was established seven years ago after Leeds United were penalized with a £200,000 fine for observing opponents’ training before matches.
A member of Leeds’ staff was discovered engaging in suspicious behavior outside Derby’s training facility prior to a game between the two teams on January 10, 2019. Manager Marcelo Bielsa later admitted to sending staff members to monitor training sessions for every team Leeds played that season.
The EFL determined that Leeds violated rules regarding the expectation of treating other teams with “good faith.”