Spygate: Southampton could be knocked out of Championship play-offs if Middlesbrough found guilty of spying | football news

It is possible Southampton could be knocked out of the Championship play-offs and denied the chance of promotion to the Premier League if an independent commission upholds allegations they spied on Middlesbrough training sessions for their play-off semi-final.

But it is also possible that the commission decides that Southampton are not guilty of any crime and that the charge is dismissed. Between these two extremes lies the full range of possible punishments.

However, the time of hearing is in the hands of the commission Sky Sports News It is said that the Commission is fully aware of the requirements at this stage of the season with the Championship play-off final taking place on May 23. Sky Sports.

If the commission decides to impose a sporting ban, the penalty can be carried over to the start of the following season.

Key considerations for the Commission are: Is there sufficient evidence to prove wrongdoing? And is that injustice worthy of a notable sports endorsement?

Basically, does the punishment fit the crime? Would it be a fair result, with all the accolades and financial gains, if Southampton were denied possible promotion to the Premier League based on this alleged wrongdoing?

The commission has the freedom and liberty to impose whatever they see fit, and that could be a dismissal of a charge, a slap on the wrist, a financial fine, a sporting ban, or even a sporting ban that could cost Southampton their place in the play-offs.

If the commission does not impose a sports ban, then the timing of the playoffs is irrelevant.

But we are in uncharted territory here. Yes, there is precedent for what happened with Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United in 2019, which resulted in the club being fined £200,000, but this has resulted in changes to EFL rules.

Rule 3.4 has been in place for many years – requiring clubs to always treat each other in “good faith” – it was alleged at Leeds, which they did not do.

But as of 2019, rule 127 is in place, which expressly prohibits a club from observing or monitoring another club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.

Southampton were charged with breaching both rules 3.4 and 127.

Southampton beat Boro 2-1 after extra-time at St Mary’s on Tuesday to reach the Wembley showpiece, where Tonda Eckert’s side will face Hull after their semi-final win over Millwall.

Sky Sports News The EFL has been told and the commission is aware that there are three teams to deal with – Southampton, Middlesbrough and Hull – and it is not just a matter of two teams getting ready to take part in the play-off final, but the clubs’ fans, ticket sales, travel and other logistics need to be organized in good time.

That’s why everyone wants a quick fix, but the matter is in the hands of an independent commission and out of the control of the EFL.

Emotional Boro boss Hellberg hits out at ‘disgraceful spying’

Boro boss Kim Helberg said the ‘Spygate’ saga which overshadowed the Championship play-off semi-final defeat to Southampton was “disgraceful” and “broke my heart”.

The Swede said: “I’ve worked as a coach for 15 years, trying to get to the Premier League. It’s been my dream for 15 years,” he said at the post-match press conference.

“I know there are clubs with bigger resources or parachute payments who can spend more money. There are teams who have bigger squads than us, there are teams who have more money to spend.

“What you have as a coach and as a team is the tactical element of the game where we can beat the opposition and I think that’s what everyone likes about the game. So I look at England and think this is the home of football, where I want to be, what I dream of. You are very proud of your football and I think that’s where I want to be.

“When you have more money and all these things, you try to find a way to get an advantage, I try to go with my team. That’s what you always try to do, because we can be better in that element.

“Alex Neil (Millwall) said a very good thing after the game. He said ‘I think I let people down because we didn’t win’. In that way, he said he let people down. It often goes home with the feeling of a coach because you think, what I can control is the tactical side of the game or helping my players more.

“When you’ve done that and for a week or two leading up to this game, take every second away from your family to watch every Southampton game to try to get the advantage that we can actually get, if we didn’t get the guy that they sent on a five-hour drive, you sit there and say, well done, maybe, I failed to play in the tactical aspect of the game and I think I failed to play.

“When it’s taken away from you like that, when someone decides: ‘No, we’re not going to watch every game. We’ll send someone instead and film the session and watch everything and hope we don’t get caught’. I guess that’s why they were changing clothes and all that stuff.

“It breaks my heart in terms of all the things I believe in. That’s the thing.

“I don’t care if different countries have different rules. This is England where football is the biggest thing. “That’s how I feel about it. I think it’s disrespectful. It makes me very sad.”

Asked if he believed Tonda Eckert knew about the alleged ‘espionage,’ Helberg said, “I can’t answer that. No comment.”

Eckert walks out again

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert, meanwhile, walked out of the post-match press conference over the ‘spygate’ question again, after Saturday’s goalless draw at the Riverside Stadium.

Eckert walked out when the second question of Tuesday’s post-match press conference was: “Are you a cheater?”

The press officer accompanying him quickly shut it down and told the journalist to “show some respect”.