'Just ban them!' - Charlie Austin takes aim at Southampton amid Middlesbrough spy scandal | OneFootball

Charlie Austin has weighed in on the spying allegations levelled at Southampton ahead of their Championship play-off clash with Middlesbrough

Charlie Austin has weighed in on the spying allegations levelled at Southampton ahead of the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final clash with Middlesbrough.

Tonda Eckert's men are set to visit Boro on Saturday, before hosting the North East club for the second leg on Tuesday.

The outcome of the play-off semi-final clash between the Saints and Kim Hellberg's side is difficult to call, as both sides finished the regular season on 80 points.

However, Southampton will enjoy home advantage for the second leg because of their superior goal difference, which saw them clinch fourth spot.

The Saints or Boro will meet either Millwall or Hull City in the Championship play-off final, after the Lions and Tigers finished third and sixth in the second tier, respectively.

Charlie Austin calls for action as Southampton accused of spying on Middlesbrough training session

Former Southampton striker Charlie Austin remains a popular figure among Saints supporters, and scored 20 goals in 81 appearances for the South Coast club before joining West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2019.

The 36-year-old also represented Swindon Town, Burnley, and Queens Park Rangers in the EFL.

Meanwhile, as reported by Sky Sports, Middlesbrough have accused a Southampton analyst of hiding in a bush while recording their training session on Thursday.

Leeds United were found guilty of a similar offence back in 2019, and were fined £200,000 for spying on a Derby County training session.

Reacting to those developments, Austin told talkSPORT Breakfast: "What is going on? If this is true, like the fine scenario with Leeds, where they got fined £200,000.

"Just ban them! (the person filming) for a year. There’s no need for it in football, they’ve got all the technology, all the data stuff now. There’s 46 games. They could have just watched them there in the full season. It’s not for me, that."

Southampton spying incident is unnecessary

The Championship play-offs often provide some of the most dramatic moments in the EFL season, but the build-up to Southampton's clash with Middlesbrough has been overshadowed by the spying allegations.

If the Saints' analyst is found guilty of that offence, it is a completely unnecessary action to have taken.

As Austin alluded to, Southampton can freely analyse all 46 of Middlesbrough's regular season games, which should give them a clear idea of the North East club's tactics and threats.

Furthermore, Eckert's side have, of course, already played Boro twice this term, making the act of spying on their training session even more odd.

Additionally, as per Teesside Live, the EFL handbook details punishments such as points deductions, fines and transfer embargoes for teams who are found guilty of watching or filming opposition training up to 72 hours before a game.

The rule to ban the filming of opposition training was introduced after Leeds were fined £200k in 2019.

In the interest of consistency, Southampton should also expect a fine, rather than a more severe punishment, but breaching a rule which could lead to points deductions or transfer embargoes is far from wise.

Come Saturday afternoon, Eckert and Hellberg will be fully focused on the meeting between their two sides, but the spying allegations are rightly claiming the headlines for now.