Southampton charged with misconduct by EFL in Middlesbrough spying' row

"Southampton have been charged with misconduct by the English Football League and will face an independent disciplinary commission set to be convened at the earliest opportunity. Middlesbrough remain furious after catching a man they maintain belongs to Tonda Eckert's backroom staff allegedly spying on a vital training session before Saturday's Championship playoff semi-final first leg against Southampton at the Riverside Stadium. It is understood that Steve Gibson, Boro's owner, will expect the south coast club to be punished severely."

"Under a rule introduced to deal specifically with spying in 2019, such cases are dealt with by independent disciplinary panels with the power to impose a wide range of punishments ranging from reprimands to fines, points deductions and, in extreme cases, expulsion from the competition. Under EFL regulations Southampton would ordinarily have 14 days to respond to their two charges but, in a statement, the governing body said it had asked the disciplinary commission to convene a hearing at the earliest opportunity."

"On Thursday Middlesbrough reported that a Southampton employee had been caught filming and making audio recordings of Boro's manager, Kim Hellberg, taking training at their Rockliffe Park base near Darlington after being spotted hiding in bushes. It is understood Middlesbrough possess compelling CCTV footage of an incident that concluded with the man they allege is a Southampton first-team analyst entering a toilet at the adjacent Rockliffe Hall hotel and re-emerging with a changed appearance."

"Late on Friday night the EFL charged Southampton with breaches of regulation 3.4, which requires clubs to act towards each other with the utmost good faith and regulation 127, which prohibits any club from observing, or attempting to observe, another club's training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match between the two. With St Mary's due to stage the semi-final second leg on Tuesday night it remains unclear when the disciplinary"

Southampton have been charged by the English Football League with misconduct and will be heard by an independent disciplinary commission at the earliest opportunity. Middlesbrough are alleging that a man connected to Southampton’s backroom staff was spying on a vital training session before the Championship playoff semi-final first leg at the Riverside Stadium. Middlesbrough reported that the alleged spy was caught filming and recording audio of manager Kim Hellberg during training at Rockliffe Park, after being spotted hiding in bushes. The club claims it has compelling CCTV footage showing the individual entering a toilet at Rockliffe Hall hotel and returning with a changed appearance. The EFL charged Southampton with breaches of regulations requiring utmost good faith and prohibiting observing or attempting to observe another club’s training within 72 hours of a scheduled match.

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