The English Football League has received a complaint from Middlesbrough alleging that an individual connected to Southampton conducted unauthorised filming on Boro’s private training property ahead of the clubs’ Championship playoff semifinal, the EFL said Thursday.
The league said it has written to Southampton asking for the club’s observations after Middlesbrough raised the complaint. An EFL spokesperson said the matter is being treated as potential misconduct under EFL regulations and that no further comment will be made at this time, per the report.
The alleged filming is said to have taken place on Middlesbrough’s private property by an individual identified to be associated with Southampton, the report says. The teams are due to meet at the Riverside Stadium for the first leg on Saturday, with the second leg scheduled at St Mary’s the following Tuesday night.
Context provided in the report notes that Southampton finished fourth in the Championship and Middlesbrough ended one place below them on goal difference after both sides secured 80 points. Middlesbrough declined to comment on the complaint, and Southampton have been contacted for a response by the Press Association, the report adds.
The alleged incident is compared in the report to the ‘spygate’ affair involving Leeds United. That episode saw then-manager Marcelo Bielsa admit to sending a spy to Derby County’s training ground before a match, and the EFL subsequently fined him for a breach of its good-faith regulations and introduced a rule restricting teams from observing opponents’ training sessions within 72 hours of a match, the report says. The report also states Bielsa paid the fine personally.
The EFL has indicated it will consider the matter under its rules as proceedings continue, and the clubs will meet on the field as scheduled while the league seeks observations from Southampton, per the report.
