Southampton cite Leeds case in appeal after Championship play-off expulsion | OneFootball

Southampton have cited Leeds United’s 2019 spying case as they appeal their expulsion from the Championship play-offs after three charges of observing opposition training.

The south coast club were accused of watching sessions at Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough, whom they beat 2-1 on aggregate, and an independent disciplinary commission confirmed on Tuesday they would be expelled, leaving Boro to face Hull City at Wembley on Saturday. The club said in a statement that it had breached EFL Regulations 3.4 and 127, offered apologies to rivals and supporters, and had given full co-operation to the investigation.

The saga, nicknamed Spygate 2.0, echoes the 2019 incident when a member of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds staff watched Derby County’s training from a public footpath, an offence that brought a £200,000 fine for failing to act in good faith. A subsequent rule now forbids attending opposition training within 72 hours of a match, and Southampton admitted both types of breach.

In the same statement, chief executive Phil Parsons accepted wrongdoing, pledged to join an EFL working group on Regulation 127 and said contrition must be matched by change. He maintained there should be a sanction but argued the penalty is out of proportion to the offence, contrasting Leeds’ £200,000 fine with the loss of a match the club values at more than £200 million.

The club also characterised the financial impact as the heaviest sanction ever imposed on an English side, citing the 30-point deduction handed to Luton Town in League Two and Chelsea’s £10.75 million fine tied to £47.5 million in undisclosed payments over seven years.

Southampton’s appeal is being considered, with a decision expected imminently. For now, Middlesbrough remain due to meet Hull in Saturday afternoon’s final.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk