Middlesborough have filed a complaint to the English Football League alleging that an individual associated with Southampton was caught filming training sessions on the club’s private property, the report says.
Per the report, the EFL has written to Southampton requesting the club’s observations after receiving the complaint and says it is treating the matter as potential misconduct under league regulations. A spokesperson for the EFL is quoted as saying the league will make no further comment at this time.
The incident comes as the Championship reaches the playoff phase. The report notes Millwall finished third and will face sixth-placed Hull, while Southampton are fourth and Middlesborough fifth, set to meet in a playoff semifinal first leg.
The report draws parallels with the 2019 episode involving Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United, when Bielsa admitted sending a scout to watch Derby County training. That inquiry resulted in Leeds being fined £200,000 by the EFL and the club issuing an apology; the report adds Bielsa paid the fine personally. The wider outcome of that case, according to the report, was a new EFL regulation barring clubs from viewing opposition training within the 72 hours before a fixture.
The current situation differs from 2019 in one key respect, the report says: Bielsa and Leeds were judged to have fallen short of expected standards at the time but had not broken explicit rules, while the report states that any breach now would contravene the standing EFL regulation. The report adds that Tonda Eckert and Southampton could face significant punishment from the EFL if found to have breached the rules.
If the allegations are upheld, the report notes the EFL’s Disciplinary Commission has powers ranging from fines to points deductions, with removal from a competition as the most extreme sanction. The league’s initial correspondence to Southampton and the pending investigation will determine the next steps, per the report.
