Saints Expelled from Playoffs

[Gloucester Saint]

4 minutes ago, JWade said:

For me, this was the straw that broke the camels back. I am done with this club in its current form and I will not be renewing my season ticket, regardless of any outcome or appeal.

Things have been rotten under this ownership for years and this is just the cherry on top. 

I think some people don't realise just how damaging this will be long term, the ripples of this scandal are going to impact every corner of the club from financials to player retention. 

At the very least, the second this appeal is done, every single person who had knowledge of this cheating should be sacked immediately. 

There aren't enough superlatives to emphasise just how angry and hurt I am by this. An entire season completely wasted because of a few idiots and now any remaining confidence and trust I had in this club has been shattered. 

This isn't heat of the moment stuff, this is years of bad decisions after bad decisions wearing me down as a fan and I don't want to do it anymore. I won't be giving the club another penny of my hard-earned money and I don't want to waste my time anymore.

At least not whilst this ownership is in place. 

Relationships can be fixed, but for me this will take a very long time and it is just another stain on modern football that is rife with corruption and cheating. I never thought Southampton would be a part of that stain, but here we are.

If I need my fix, I'll go to a non-league game. 

A sad way for it to end. The fans do not deserve this, but more importantly, the club do not deserve the fans.

☝️ 

[Football Special]

8 minutes ago, Pengi said:

The Athletic has more details.https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7293082/2026/05/20/southampton-middlesbrough-spygate/?source=user_shared_article

Assuming media were not present for the private hearing who has been leaking all this to the press? 

[LegalEagle]

2 minutes ago, Mr X said:

I can't see how tonda can continue? 

Safe to say that we probably won’t see Tonda again in this country. I’d go back home if I were him.

[hypochondriac]

Just now, saintant said:

The players won't even consider using breach of contract as a reason to leave as free agents - their own agents would advise against that.

Agreed. They will get plenty of offers and can just leave in the usual way.

[Saint_clark]

1 minute ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Are well all in agreement that Will Salt was representing/working for or on behalf of Saints, and did not randomly wander up to Boro's training ground for his own academic research?

I just found an article that says he is actually working for Villa!!!! How do I let the club know? 

[Saint_clark]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Sounds like he's been a bit of a bully going by this detailed Athletic article. Yesterdays articles were grim reading, but that just takes the biscuit. I've never felt so low about football.

Who, Tonda or Dragan? Haven't seen that article yet.

[AlexLaw76]

3 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Sounds like he's been a bit of a bully going by this detailed Athletic article. Yesterdays articles were grim reading, but that just takes the biscuit. I've never felt so low about football.

Someone on here was saying yesterday morning, or even the day before, that Tonda was at the centre and a bit of a c**t about it.

@MB I think it was?

Edited 4 hours ago by AlexLaw76

[lhammondo]

On 13/05/2026 at 21:49, Miltonaggro said:

Apologies for the war and peace post chaps – bear with or scroll past.  For the last week I have been trying to provide a steer on here as to why I think this silly episode will be concluded with a fine (in the region of £200k) and / or a possible future points deduction (though if I were advising Saints I would appeal this).  Simply that talk of forfeit and bans opens a legal can of worms that is well beyond the remit and scope of both the EFL and / or Middlesbrough FC.

The best way to get your head around it is to think about intervention via the regulator in any other lucrative industry away from the emotion attached to sports.  If a rule imposed by the regulator is wildly out of proportion to any complaint of unfair advantage, the business or individual still has full recourse to law.  Be aware that in any field, a regulatory rule or penalty cannot trump or bypass the law.  My practice area doesn’t extend to sports law, but there is some allied knowledge of commercial litigation, which is what will commence if the EFL act rashly. 

This lunchtime I managed to have a chat with an old friend who does work in sports / commercial law and we agreed on what would likely happen in the event of the EFL overstepping.  I had a spare hour after this (might write a casenote on if it ever goes to law), so thought I would post this on here to put fellow Saints fans minds at rest.  This is only a reflective opinion, and you can never guarantee outcome of course – its complicated as they say - but it’s a measured / informed opinion at least:

Assuming Saints reasonable position is that a junior analyst did record half an hour of MFC’s training, without the Board’s knowledge, and the club are currently undertaking a review of this. 

Let’s say the EFL announce that they will fine and ban SFC from the Play off final, causing the club to miss out on promotion to the EPL.  Reacting to the white noise of the past week.

1. Targets for litigation by SFC

Should the EFL Independent Disciplinary Commission rule to expel Southampton FC from the Championship Play-off Final against Hull City on 23 May, Southampton should immediately file a claim in the King's Bench Division of the High Court naming two distinct parties:

A) Primary Defendant: The English Football League (EFL)

Cause of Action: Breach of Contract, Arbitrary Exercise of Disciplinary Power, and Procedural Unfairness.

Basis: The EFL Regulations form a binding contract between member clubs and the league. Southampton will challenge any expedited expulsion as an ultra vires (meaning beyond their powers) abuse of power that violates the league's own regulatory framework.

B) Secondary Defendant / Interested Party: Middlesbrough FC

Procedural Joinder: Middlesbrough must be formally joined to the High Court action as an Interested Party under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), as it is likely that they are actively preparing to take Southampton's place at Wembley (as stated in recent MFC communications).

Tort Claims: Direct counterclaims for Injurious Falsehood and Defamation regarding public statements made by Middlesbrough personnel (e.g., Hellberg publicly labelling Southampton "cheats"), which have severely damaged the club's corporate reputation and stock value before a formal verdict has been rendered.

2. Legal position and precedent

Southampton's legal counsel will likely use four distinct arguments to block an expulsion from the play-offs, these are to use the Leeds 2019 case, employment law isolation, breach of natural justice, and the good old American Cyanamid principles.

i) Deviation from Established League Precedent (Leeds United Spygate 2019) In 2019, Marcelo Bielsa admitted to spying on Derby County and every other Championship opponent. The EFL established a clear, binding precedent by issuing a £200,000 fine and a formal reprimand. Escalating the penalty to total competition expulsion for a first-time alleged offense by an analyst is a gross violation of contractual consistency and proportionality under English sports law (Bradley v Jockey Club).

ii) The Rogue Agent Defence: Southampton's executive board will likely submit immediate formal statements confirming they never authorised, funded, or evaluated any illicitly filmed footage. Under standard employment principles, a club cannot face strict liability capital sporting punishment (expulsion) for an individual first-team analyst acting independently outside his explicit operational mandate – their must be a chain of command / causation in terms of proof.

iii) Breach of Natural Justice via Compressed Timelines: The EFL's decision to bypass the standard 14-day response period to force a hearing before 23 May actively denies Southampton its right to a fair trial (McInnes v Onslow-Fane). Depriving a club of adequate time to conduct a comprehensive internal review while Middlesbrough introduces unverified third-party "CCTV history" constitutes a fatal procedural flaw.

iv) Irreparable Harm Threshold (American Cyanamid Co). Southampton easily satisfies the High Court test for an Urgent Interim Injunction (this is absolutely key). The financial upside of reaching the Premier League is universally valued at around £200 million (ballpark extreme financial losses). If the EFL removes Southampton from the final illegally, no monetary damages paid by the league months later can adequately compensate for the permanent loss of global prestige, TV broadcasting distributions, and elite sporting merit. Essentially, were the court to find for SFC, Saints could effectively bankrupt the EFL and Middlesbrough FC.

3. Potential damages and remedies

If the EFL Independent Disciplinary Commission issues a sporting expulsion or points deduction before the weekend of the play-off final, Southampton must seek the following cumulative judicial remedies:

A) Pre-Match Urgent Remedies (Wembley Focus):

Urgent Interim High Court Injunction: An emergency judicial order freezing the Championship Play-off Final scheduled for 23 May, or alternatively ordering the EFL to permit Southampton to play Hull City as scheduled, until a full commercial court trial evaluates the legality of the charge.

Final Judicial Declaration: A formal court order declaring that the EFL Independent Disciplinary Commission's penalty is null, void, contractually invalid, and ultra vires.

Injunction Against Disparagement (Middlesbrough): An injunction ordering Middlesbrough executives and coaching staff to immediately cease public character assassinations and "cheating" accusations online and in press conferences until the formal legal channel has concluded.

B) Post-Match Monetary Damages (speculative as I don’t think EFL are that stupid)

£200 Million Promotion Expectation Damages (From the EFL): If the High Court denies the injunction but later finds the EFL breached its contract by expelling the club, the EFL will be liable for the full, audited £200 million loss representing missing out on the Premier League's central broadcasting revenue, parachute payments, and global commercial rights.

Reliance and Operational Damages (From the EFL): Full recovery of lost ticket sales for Wembley, pre-booked corporate travel packages, stadium concession refunds, and pre-negotiated club sponsorship bonuses tied to reaching the final.

Tortious Special Damages (From Middlesbrough FC): Punitive financial damages if Southampton can prove that Middlesbrough’s public agitating directly caused major commercial sponsors or e.g. shirt partners to execute ‘morality clauses’ and pull funding out of the club.

4. Advice to SFC on taking action if the EFL goes nuclear (I would imagine that all of this is already well in motion)

Club solicitors Paris Smith LLP to instruct specialist sports KC in terms of retention for the action.

Submit Response of Non-Authorisation: Issue the club’s formal observations to the EFL, officially isolating the analyst's actions from board knowledge.

Prepare the High Court Application Papers: Pre- draft the American Cyanamid skeleton argument to ensure that if the Independent Commission rules against the club court injunction papers can be served within two hours.

So that’s my legal tuppence in terms of shutting out the white-noise, hope it helps in terms of perspective.  Much sharper people that I will already be on board, and SFC seem to be acting with extreme professionalism and strategic edge.  Short advice to the Boro brains trust would be to move on, or be careful what you wish for.

So you reckon most of these potential miracles are dead in the water? 

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, LGTL said:

Hire the best possible lawyers, rather than Paris Smith. 

Fuck me, is that who they used? A fucking high street lawyer for a £200m+ issue making headline national news and with the eyes of the entire football world on it. 

This board just gets more and more comical by the minute. The unbeatable blend of breathtaking arrogance and staggering ineptitude. 

Edited 4 hours ago by Midfield_General

[Saint86]

33 minutes ago, Elmore Saint said:

Classic case of two things can be true at once....

1. We are woefully run and have been from day 1 of the SR tenure. I wouldn't trust them to run a Christmas club, let alone a football club. A 21-game streak merely papered over the cracks IMO.  Root and branch change needed, probably new ownership required. Our reputation is shot whatever the outcome - that damage is done.

2. Gibson literally walked the EFL (and the tribunal panel) up the path to expulsion. Totally disproportionate and if left unchanged will not only impact this season but possibly the next 5-10. This, I hope, is what is being challenged today.  

Looking wider, football can and should take a note from Rugby - every offence has a stated penalty, with high, low and mid entry points and adjustments for mitigating circumstances. 

For us - this is a first offence since the codification of spying - so low entry point. Multiple offences so uplift to mid level, early admission - back to low as mitigation. 

A sizeable fine and suspended points deduction would be more in proportion - recognising that the offence is now codified.

This is all fair and reasonable.

Unfortunately the EFL have the Boro CEO on the board, and we sent Parson's into the arena like a lamb into a lions mouth. So we are cooked, and this is another -10points level sanction given to us by footballing bodies, similar to the Luton/Swindon/Bournemouth (etc) cases of years gone by. We have been punished more harshly than Leicester ffs, who got an irrelevant points deduction.

There is a short window where the club needs to rally together now - to try and mitigate this. Unfortunately, we are again being led by Parsons and co and the club is seemingly about as informed and decisive  as a bunch of headless chickens at best, and total fools at worse. It currently feels like a summer where we are rudderless at board level, looking for a new DoF, and new manager, and having to once again rebuild the squad whilst wrestling with impending PSR sanctions, and an impending change to the league spending regualtions.

As always, players and staff will come and go, but the fans will need to bear the brunt of this for years.

Someone needs to provide something to rally around and fast, before the summer and next season become total rights offs, and rather than building something with our last year of parachute payments we end up spiralling down the leagues the way of sides like Wednesday and Blackburn etc.

Edited 4 hours ago by Saint86

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Are well all in agreement that Will Salt was representing/working for or on behalf of Saints, and did not randomly wander up to Boro's training ground for his own academic research?

He was certainly not a random kid on an iPhone who had gone rouge, that's for sure.

We all wanted to believe that, as we all stick up for our own club. But you can't stick up for any of this. I didn't think it would be systemic, I had a slightly optimistic view that we took a chance to have a quick gander - but clearly not, this was a systemic seriously amateur operation.

Only 3 clubs? Nah, we've been doing this all season. Given that we spied at Ipswich when they were at Eastleigh, it's probably fair to assume we've spied on a lot of teams before our home game with them if they train locally. The entirety of 2026 is null and void for me as a fan.

I think expulsion is harsh as a punishment on the fans, but it would not feel right to be supporting a club in that way if I'm honest. The clubs 'covert' operation has done us over here. I don't know what the point of appealing is, we're bang to rights.

[saintant]

1 hour ago, Farmer Saint said:

The funniest thing is, I still don't see any of this as a big deal. I just don't see the material advantage gained.

Which begs the question why the fuck were we stupid enough to do it and to get caught? Imbeciles.

[Patrick Bateman]

12 minutes ago, Pengi said:

The Athletic has more details.https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7293082/2026/05/20/southampton-middlesbrough-spygate/?source=user_shared_article

Outstanding article, even if it's damning.

Bye Tonda, thanks for the couple of months of enjoyment but you fucked this. "Didn't know the rules", yet they were dressing in Eastleigh kits?? FFS. Idiots. 

[Galway saint]

41 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

Just looking beyond the impact on Southampton for a second -

Apologies if already mentioned but had the 14 day rule not changed the hearing would have been after the Play-Off Final.

Had we lost to Hull the sanctions would have been applied based on SFC being a Championship club.

Had we beaten Hull and they had then “expelled” Southampton it would have seen Hull City promoted.

So, Middlesbrough rock up at Wembley and beat Hull.

Have Hull City then not got a case to put to the EFL, if not over the original hearing but certainly over the less than 24 hours for Southampton’s appeal to be heard.

The EFL are doing everything they can to make sure their showcase final goes ahead, however difficult or wrongly.

The whole process stinks to high heaven.

I think that’s spot on - if you are going to expel Southampton then logically Hull are promoted by default. The fact that they aren’t is a product of the EFL not wanting to lose revenue , rather than putting Boro in the position they would have been in but for the offence. I cant see how the club can properly prepare its appeal in 24 hours so I would be considering an injunction 

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Who, Tonda or Dragan? Haven't seen that article yet.

Tonda, some evidence provided by TWO analysts from Southampton apparently - they regretted, but admitted they were pressured into doing so by Tonda - who has had WhatsApp messages incriminating him uncovered. And he even had the cheek to be 'unhappy' with the level of detail they returned with after Oxford.

[benjii]

Complete lack of management from the club to allow this to go on.

If Tonda genuinely didn't know, who is monitoring him and why didn't they know? Incompetent.

If he did know, who is monitoring him and why didn’t they stop him? Incompetent and/or complicit.

Either way, Tonda, Spors and Parsons surely have to be dismissed pronto and Dragan needs to get a new football adviser in to help him with the rebuild. Preferably someone with experience of the English Football League, for a fucking change! Is Hodgson staying on at Bristol? If not, nice gig for him, for example.

[trousers]

1 hour ago, Tom & Gerry said:

Tonda reported as not knowing the rules. Why the f**ck didn't someone at the club tell him?

It is feasible, if not overly plausible, that Tonda was ignorant of the rules and those above him didn't know (or care) how he was gathering data, so had no reason to question him on it. As I say, as unlikely as that sounds, we can't rule it out 100%, can we...? #benefitofthedoubt

[BotleySaint]

11 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

All coming out now. Tonda the ringleader then.

Which might be a good thing in terms of moving forward. Someone to make the scapegoat. Even though he claims to not have known. Remove him and there is the possibility to claim a fresh start.

[Pamplemousse]

Tonda has to be sacked. He can be the fall guy and I think the footballing world will move on fairly quickly.

[S-Clarke]

 

2 minutes ago, trousers said:

It is feasible, if not overly plausible, that Tonda was ignorant of the rules and those above him didn't know (or care) how he was gathering data, so had no reason to question him on it. As I say, as unlikely as that sounds, we can't rule it out 100%, can we...? #benefitofthedoubt

If he didn't think it was a problem, why did he send our guys dressed in another teams kit in order to make us less suspicious? If he thought this was all normal, then surely they'd just turn up and get kicked away when told. Not hide in bushes/tress and wear oppo kits.

Edited 4 hours ago by S-Clarke

[Gloucester Saint]

12 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Jesus fucking christ, it gets worse. We've even dragged Eastleigh into this.

• Incriminating WhatsApp messages to Southampton’s analysts from head coach Tonda Eckert were revealed in the hearing, with the German now potentially facing his own serious Football Association charges
• Southampton had initially planned for Salt to go back and spy on Middlesbrough for a second day
• When Southampton spied on Ipswich, the operation involved dressing in Eastleigh kit as a disguise

 

One of the key revelations at Tuesday’s hearing were the WhatsApp messages sent by Eckert to his analysts that people with knowledge of proceedings said were particularly damaging to Southampton’s case.

Two of the club’s analysts gave evidence at the hearing in which they expressed remorse for their actions but said they were pushed into the spying trips. In his evidence, Eckert — who has spent most of his coaching career in Germany — claimed he was not aware that such behaviour was against the rules in England as it was widespread in European football.

The hearing was told that Eckert had sent people to spy on fellow Championship sides Oxford and Ipswich but had been displeased with the quality of their findings. In the case of Ipswich, the subterfuge extended to using kit worn by Eastleigh, whose Hampshire training ground was hosting Southampton’s opponents.

 

Tonda needs to walk on Friday before he is sacked for gross misconduct. The Eastleigh example is far worse than Middlesbrough IMHO. Latter was stupidity in a too-open complex but that’s just unpleasant dragging Eastleigh into it.

[sockeye]

@stfrancisofbenali also reported the bullying angle. Deeply damning. 
 

Get the whole fucking board out

[Gloucester Saint]

1 minute ago, sockeye said:

@stfrancisofbenali also reported the bullying angle. Deeply damning. 
 

Get the whole fucking board out

Dragan needs to clear the debts and sell quickly. 

[AlexLaw76]

@stfrancisofbenali

@MB

These guys knew.....

What else do you know? 

[BotleySaint]

Club website is changing. Next match has disappeared for me etc.

[LegalEagle]

Love to know what Tonda was going to say when he said last week that he would speak eventually (or words to the effect). We will have to wait for the autobiography I guess.

[trousers]

1 hour ago, bpsaint said:

Like most things in life my gut tells me this thing is going to get worse before it gets better. 

Yep, ditto

[AlexLaw76]

On 17/05/2026 at 13:17, MB said:

I’ve said all along Tonda is involved, sadly 

ITK tick

[beatlesaint]

15 minutes ago, LegalEagle said:

I assume that if we lose the appeal today then the club will be making an urgent application tomorrow for an injunction at the High Court to stop Saturday’s game. If we don’t get the injunction then we have to pay the EFL’s costs for that application. Around £50k to £100k. In the scheme of things it’s a no brainer.

I’m afraid talk of Southampton and “no brainer” in the same sentence is extremely apt at present.

[Sheaf Saint]

4 minutes ago, saintant said:

Which begs the question why the fuck were we stupid enough to do it and to get caught? Imbeciles.

So much this. It's not so much the doing it in the first place, it's the total incompetence of being so blatant and being so utterly fucking stupid as to have a paper trail of evidence.  

[AlexLaw76]

17 hours ago, stfrancisofbenali said:

Eckert is done for. Probably Spors too. Serious bullying claims. EFL board meeting now. 

Another ITK tick

[SouthWalesSaints]

Why have we given all of this information voluntarily, if nothing else, LIE.  Pay the analysts good money and tell them they have a job for life and to keep quiet. 

We're the stupidest bunch of pricks ever. 

[Gloucester Saint]

Just now, AlexLaw76 said:

@stfrancisofbenali

@MB

These guys knew.....

What else do you know? 

@LeG posted about Dragan and the board being furious, in hindsight that was Parsons but the message was a bit garbled and the fans weren’t ready at that stage to grasp events.

[trousers]

1 hour ago, Farmer Saint said:

I disagree, if B is true, then A surely follows.

This doesn't affect as much as having a player sent off in a game unfairly, or a penalty given that shouldn't, or offside goal.

Or the scousers setting off a chain of negative impact events when they tapped up our best player.... 

[AlexLaw76]

1 minute ago, Gloucester Saint said:

@LeG posted about Dragan and the board being furious, in hindsight that was Parsons but the message was a bit garbled and the fans weren’t ready at that stage to grasp events.

LeG is a known ITK. But 2 more to take note of

[Gloucester Saint]

1 minute ago, SouthWalesSaints said:

Why have we given all of this information voluntarily, if nothing else, LIE.  Pay the analysts good money and tell them they have a job for life and to keep quiet. 

We're the stupidest bunch of pricks ever. 

The lack of use of NDAs for voluntary departures is astonishing let alone all of the other incompetence. I wouldn’t employ any of these people from SFC, total morons. 

[S-Clarke]

Just now, AlexLaw76 said:

LeG is a known ITK. But 2 more to take note of

Hopefully he can let us know when we're going to sign Eduard Sperytsan

[gecko]

Absolutely classic Saints.

Just when it felt like we had our team back; good manager; performing players.... etc - Difficult to imagine what happens next if the appeal fails (which I expect it most likely will) - Tonda will most likely get sanctioned, how many of the players are going to want out? and even if they don't how are they going to get motivated for next season when this was such a cock up? feels like this has all the makings of a massive downwards spiral after what was such a positive 6 months. 

I stayed off of here when the announcement broke to avoid all the negativity so it has probably been said a lot by others already. But it does feel a little harsh to me that this is the precedent to be set. When compared to many other rules  being broken, like because Hull have already had a punishment for financial irregularities but are somehow still eligible to go up through the playoffs, or teams like Leicester who got promoted with the same sort of financial cheating. It does feel rather disproportionate to see such a harsh penalty applied to us when there are countless cases of other teams having "cheated," hugely benefited, yet are still allowed to progress.

Saints have really dropped a bollock on this one - hopefully they'll find their way again and soon.

[BotleySaint]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Hopefully he can let us know when we're going to sign Eduard Sperytsan

Has Skacel signed yet?

Edited 4 hours ago by BotleySaint

[AlexLaw76]

NEW: Southampton call an “extraordinary exec meeting” today to discuss future of Tonda Eckert. An option on the table is to take legal action against its own Manager, although lesser actions including suspension are also being discussed. More to follow. 

[LegalEagle]

Do none of Tonda’s team have an interest in football? I assume that they do so being asked to spy like this, the first thing I would have done was just check what happened as a result of the Bielsa case. Everyone who knows anything about football knows of this. A simple Google search would have shown the new rules that the EFL brought in. Takes 5 minutes at most. We knew but didn’t care. Is that because everyone else is doing it? Of course they are.

[Lighthouse]

3 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

ITK tick

Tonda was never not going to be involved. I know Saints stupidity reaches new depths every time we think we've hit rock bottom but even we wouldn't do all of this bullsh*t and then not actually tell the first team manager about any of it.

[sockeye]

i don’t care if we get relegated again if it means these CLOWNS leave

We’ve got super Jay Robinson on the wings and super Dylan Moody in the gloves

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, S-Clarke said:

Slept on it and actually feel worse about it all this morning. Hearing us all over the morning news and on the radio for all the wrong reasons is so unfair on us fans. I also feel really bad for Hull City, a genuinely amazing achievement for them to reach the final after last season and their 'sanctions' - but they're being punished and this will undoubtably impact their buildup.

And the lack of any communication from the club, the next fucking morning, shows that they are also handling this situation incredibly badly. Is there anything they can do right? Ok, we're going to appeal so it may change (It won't), but fuck me...at least put out a holding statement, at least try to appease the fanbase you're going to lose in droves.

They can't do a fucking thing right at any level, at any time. They'd even fail in non-league, I'm sure of it. Incompetent morons, the lot of them.

That's so harsh on our crack Executive team of corporate visionaries, master media manipulators, legal eagles and disruptive out-of-the-box thinkers.

I went on the official site just now to find out the latest on the Saints Store opening hours and Parking Update, and there it was, top story in the club's Latest News.  

So everyone can rest easy — we've got our best men on the case and they are all over it. 

Edited 4 hours ago by Midfield_General

[RedArmy]

Eastleigh 

 

Maybe choose a club that’s not in Hampshire. 
 

Fucking amateurs, never seen anything so poorly thought out in all my life. 

[BotleySaint]

Just now, LegalEagle said:

Do none of Tonda’s team have an interest in football? I assume that they do so being asked to spy like this, the first thing I would have done was just check what happened as a result of the Bielsa case. 

The bullying angle could explain this. They felt pressured into it. Probably want to keep their job. And we're told its OK, nobody will know etc.

This happens in workplaces everywhere.

[Lighthouse]

Just now, RedArmy said:

Eastleigh 

 

Maybe choose a club that’s not in Hampshire. 
 

Fucking amateurs, never seen anything so poorly thought out in all my life. 

They were at Eastleigh's training ground. Would look a bit weird walking around in Spartak Moscow shirts.

[Football Special]

1 minute ago, RedArmy said:

Eastleigh 

 

Maybe choose a club that’s not in Hampshire. 
 

Fucking amateurs, never seen anything so poorly thought out in all my life. 

[egg]

25 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Jesus fucking christ, it gets worse. We've even dragged Eastleigh into this.

• Incriminating WhatsApp messages to Southampton’s analysts from head coach Tonda Eckert were revealed in the hearing, with the German now potentially facing his own serious Football Association charges
• Southampton had initially planned for Salt to go back and spy on Middlesbrough for a second day
• When Southampton spied on Ipswich, the operation involved dressing in Eastleigh kit as a disguise

 

One of the key revelations at Tuesday’s hearing were the WhatsApp messages sent by Eckert to his analysts that people with knowledge of proceedings said were particularly damaging to Southampton’s case.

Two of the club’s analysts gave evidence at the hearing in which they expressed remorse for their actions but said they were pushed into the spying trips. In his evidence, Eckert — who has spent most of his coaching career in Germany — claimed he was not aware that such behaviour was against the rules in England as it was widespread in European football.

The hearing was told that Eckert had sent people to spy on fellow Championship sides Oxford and Ipswich but had been displeased with the quality of their findings. In the case of Ipswich, the subterfuge extended to using kit worn by Eastleigh, whose Hampshire training ground was hosting Southampton’s opponents.

 

Wow. 

The stupidity of all of this - doing it, and our approach to mitigation - is breathtaking. 

On what planet did we think it's credible to simultaneously argue that Tonda thought it was ok, but got his staff wearing a disguise. 

When you're on a knife edge, the tribunal have discretion to do what they like with you, and the tribunal chair sits as a part time crown court judge so can sniff bullshit a mile away, you toe a credible line. 

Edited 4 hours ago by egg

[Plastic]

1 minute ago, RedArmy said:

Eastleigh 

 

Maybe choose a club that’s not in Hampshire. 
 

Fucking amateurs, never seen anything so poorly thought out in all my life. 

I'm already an Eastleigh ST holder. Great little club. 

Or maybe Stoneham, just won FA vase at Wembley. good for them. 

 

Just seen this on bbc:

Former FA chairman and Manchester City chief David Bernstein said he was "really surprised" and "taken aback by the severity of this punishment".

Speaking on the Today programme, Bernstein said: "It was clear what they did, it was amateurish... it was stupid but I think this is a disproportionate punishment.

"Promotion to the Premier League, other than affecting the whole history of the club and the future of the club, is worth £200-250m, a huge amount of money.

"This offence seems to be a young man hiding behind a tree... it's not a James Bond thing... of the three matches that were spied upon, Southampton didn't win any of them.

"It was a really stupid thing to do."