Southampton have been charged with misconduct by the English Football League after Middlesbrough said they caught a Southampton employee spying on a training session before the Championship playoff semi-final first leg.
The EFL said an independent disciplinary commission will be convened at the earliest opportunity, opening the door to penalties that could range from a reprimand or fine to a points deduction or, in extreme cases, expulsion from the competition. Middlesbrough said the alleged spying took place at their Rockliffe Park base near Darlington, where the man was spotted hiding in bushes. They said the person filmed and made audio recordings of manager Kim Hellberg taking training, and later entered a toilet at the adjacent Rockliffe Hall hotel before re-emerging with a changed appearance.
The buildup to middlesbrough vs southampton had already been dominated by the accusation that Southampton had been peeking through the bushes at Middlesbrough’s training ground, turning a playoff tie into a disciplinary issue before a ball was kicked. Under a rule introduced in 2019, spying cases can be dealt with by independent disciplinary panels, and the matter has drawn comparisons with the 2019 Marcelo Bielsa spying case involving Leeds and Derby.
Southampton would ordinarily have 14 days to respond to their two charges under EFL regulations, but the club has said it will cooperate fully with the governing body while the process runs its course. Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson is expected to want Southampton punished severely, adding another layer of friction to a tie already thick with suspicion.
Pre-match, Tonda Eckert declined to engage deeply with the row, saying the club had made a statement and there was little more he could add. He said that at this stage of the season it is the players, not the coaches, who decide games, and insisted Middlesbrough were focused on themselves all week. Eckert also said they knew they were facing a very good team and that the team always plays to win, adding that they would try to do the same on the day.
There was at least one team change for Middlesbrough, with Hayden Hackney not recovering from a calf injury in time to be involved and not named on the bench. Middlesbrough set up in a 3-4-3 formation with Brynn, Ayling, Fry, Malanda, Brittain, Morris, McGree, Targettl, Whittaker, Conway and Strelec, while Southampton named a 4-2-3-1 with Peretz, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Manning, Downes, Jander, Fellows, Azaz, Scienza and Larin. The first leg was scheduled to kick off at 12.30pm BST, with the legal and sporting fallout now running alongside the match itself.
