There when Franny scored

I’m definitely against VAR but the Bolton one and this one give me pause for thought because they’re so obvious it’s inexplicable why they aren’t given. Conversely, I also actually thought Downes got wiped out by O’Leary against West Brom which was technically a penalty but I understand why the ref hasn’t given it as the ball had long gone as had the chance. Tonda alluded to it in his post match interview. 3 points lost from poor decisions, none gained that I can recall (all evens itself out!)?

That’s what I thought, clear hand ball? am I seeing things?

What's your view Christophe - is this a good thing?

I agree with you, this is an implicit criticism of the EFL decisions, I.e. that the deterrence did not take account of the FA v Klopp precedent that if you’re going to issue a deterrent element it can’t result in a disproportionate overall sanction. In para. 115 they go on to say “in this context…”, which I took to mean that the consideration of sanctions that followed was framed by that principle.

Having read the written reasons they are a real vindication for Tonda: - did not pressure anyone - did not know that spying was against specific rules - no systemic spying I also agree with the poster above that para. 114 is a back-hander to the EFL, I.e. that they went against the precedent in FA v Klopp that deterrence cannot result in disproportionality. Another one is at para. 34 where they appear to take issue with the lack of cross examination of a witness “seemingly because of the pressure of time.” These written reasons seriously undermine the EFL decisions in my view and demonstrate that the ridiculously short timescale of those not one but two arbitrations resulted in procedural unfairness and did not provide us with sufficient opportunity to present our case. i haven’t seen anything that suggests we’re pursuing a section 68 challenge under the Arbitration Act, it would be interesting to know why not. In particular, it appears that this panel considered a lot more evidence, over 1000 pages (and 187 pages of transcript). These written reasons are also much more cautious in stating the weight given to the evidence, noting specific instances of cross examination and where the FA chose not to adduce evidence, something that was notably lacking in the EFL decisions. Something that a high court judge considered made the decisions unsafe - https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2026/05/26/op-ed-sir-nicholas-mostyn-kc-soutampton-fc-admiral-byng-is-shot-again/ Ultimately, the FA relied heavily on the evidence in the EFL decisions, this panel chose to reject a lot of that.

I thought he had said Tonda had a ban and we had appealed it but maybe I’m confusing him with a different poster.

I don’t agree. People have genuine anxiety about it, myself included. As you said, probability dictates that someone knows something. So someone pretending to know something can be anxiety inducing up until the point it’s obvious that they’re pretending. That uncertainty, and the vested interest is what they’re relying on. I don’t think that makes it harmless or tragic. If someone cares about something deeply it makes it very difficult to be objective, or accurately assess the credibility of a source.

Huge respect for him. Takes guts to stand up for your beliefs to your professional detriment.

Worrying Dan thinks that that commentary is in Italian. What are they teaching the youngsters in schools these days!

Fair point, and we did take Stephens from Plymouth academy I think so not like we’re not also guilty of it. Just seems to be getting worse and they are going at such a young age we never even get to see them play for Saints which is a real shame. Same for the lad that went to Lyon.

Take your point, but if he isn’t in an academy already and we spot him, and are prepared to buy his family a house I think that’s fair enough. If City did that I wouldn’t complain because they aren’t taking someone else’s investment at a huge undervaluation (although I say that without knowing what competition we got, if any).

A few will have already seen this: My friend who lives in North Devon knew him well and told me when he moved to Saints he would be phenomenal. I think Saints relocated his whole family even when he was age 11. Apparently he has extraordinary confidence, something like what we see with Bellingham. By all accounts this is a generational talent who in times gone by would have presumably gone through to the first team and been sold for millions. I don’t know how much compensation we will get, but if we can’t bring players through and sell them for huge sums you have to wonder whether the academy model can continue to be successful? This obviously applies to most of the teams in the pyramid as well. Does anyone know if anything is being done about this? I guess not given, as we have seen with Spygate, the elite run football but I’m surprised it doesn’t create more noise!

With the continued mention that the punishment was disproportionate, do we think Saints are gearing up for a Section 68 challenge to the Decision? May he why they have hired Clifford chance if that’s true. Worth a read - https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2026/05/26/op-ed-sir-nicholas-mostyn-kc-soutampton-fc-admiral-byng-is-shot-again/

While I don’t agree with it, this is not great reading, and is written by sensible people for once: https://www.stewartslaw.com/news/spy-games-what-are-the-possible-repercussions-of-the-southampton-v-middlesbrough-play-off-spying-allegations/

Very helpful, thank you. In particular, 91.6