Lincoln City may have to wait to find out whether we could be playing Middlesbrough or Southampton in the Championship next season, despite the conclusion of their play-off tie.
The Saints secured a dramatic victory at St. Mary’s Stadium last night, with Shea Charles scoring the winner deep into extra time.
However, the fallout from the tie has only just begun, following an alleged spying incident involving Southampton prior to the first leg.
A verdict is expected to be delivered shortly, with reports indicating a sporting sanction will be imposed, including a ban from the play-offs or a points deduction next season.
What’s The Backstory Behind This?
Boro’s training ground is located just outside of Darlington, alongside the luxury hotel Rockliffe Hall, which is open to the public. The alleged offence is believed to have taken place after the supposed Southampton analyst parked at the golf club. He then stood at the top of a hill overlooking Middlesbrough’s training base and was able to spectate.
Further allegations include recording the session and wearing headphones, potentially to livestream the session back to the Saints. After being approached by a member of Boro staff, the individual, according to BBC Sport, failed to identify himself, deleted some files on his phone, ran away, got changed in the toilets, and left.
Southampton had been so strong in the second half of the campaign, and questions have to be asked if this alleged incident has been a regular occurrence. Tonda Eckert’s outfit are the best side in the first 15 minutes of matches this season, in both boxes. However, Riley McGree scored after just five minutes to stun the South Coast side. A cynic might say that had something to do with being unable to spy on their opponents in quite the same manner as they may have been earlier this season. The second edition of ‘Spygate’ will rumble on, but the repercussions are likely to be severe.
It’s worth remembering that Leeds United were fined £200,000 for a similar incident against Derby County in 2019, without breaking a specific rule. There was no precedent for this behaviour, so the introduction of rule 127, prohibiting any club from observing, or attempting to observe, another club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match, was brought in following the Whites’ misconduct. However, their case perhaps wasn’t helped by the work of legendary boss Marcelo Bielsa.
He not only admitted sending spies to every club his team had faced that season, but detailed exactly how he did it in an extraordinary press conference. The Rams got revenge by winning the play-off semi-final tie later that season, where the players’ celebrations referenced that incident. However, Leeds had the last laugh, winning the Championship title the following year, and were given a guard of honour at Pride Park.
Back to the original story, and an independent commission will decide what punishment, if any, Southampton will face. The fallout from all of this is that while Boro were consigned to another season in the Championship by losing last night, they may still have a shot at winning promotion to the Premier League. Whatever the outcome, it will be a controversial outcome in some capacity, and this drama will rumble on for the next few weeks.
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