Shock Middlesbrough, Southampton spying allegation made - analyst was 'hiding in a bush' | OneFootball

The Saints have reportedly had a first-team analyst spotted recording Boro’s training session before their first leg of the play-offs.

The EFL Championship play-offs continue to draw closer, with one side hopeful they can turn their Premier League ambitions into a reality.

Hull City host Millwall at the MKM Stadium on Friday evening, while the second play-off semi-final sees Middlesbrough welcome Southampton to the Riverside Stadium to round off a bumper week of Championship action.

Both ties will be particularly enthralling, with the winners of both encounters meeting for the final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 23rd May.

All the dedicated and hard work from the entire 46-game campaign goes into these two legs, with some of these teams feeling agony, while two others will feel the ecstasy of coming out on top and being one game away from the top-flight.

Tension and nerves are bound to be rife as kick-off ticks down, but these are the games where heroes are made, with big-game players looking to step-up and make a difference in their quests for promotion.

Homing in on the second play-off semi-final on Teesside way, a shocking development has emerged from Middlesbrough’s training ground, with Boro accusing Southampton of using underhand tactics to prepare for the meeting at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough accuse Southampton of spying on training session before play-off meeting

As per a report by the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, Middlesbrough have caught a Southampton first-team analyst recording their training session while hiding in a bush, which is now being investigated by the EFL.

An individual was believed to have been spotted and approached by club staff on Thursday morning at Boro’s Rockliffe Park training centre, where he was asked to delete videos and pictures from his mobile phone of their training session.

The male proceeded to leave the training ground and made his way into the nearby Rockliffe Hall Hotel, which is owned by Boro owner Steve Gibson, changing clothes in a toilet and departing the area.

Middlesbrough are believed to have made a complaint to the footballing authorities, with a new rule recently introduced that prohibits teams from viewing opposition training 72 hours prior to a match, unless they are invited to do so.

Middlesbrough, Southampton spy gate saga is a sequel to Leeds United, Derby County antics

In quite an astonishing story, this spy gate saga has all the hallmarks of Leeds United’s play-off semi-final against Derby County in 2019, when then Whites boss Marcelo Bielsa had a colleague look in on the Rams’ training session prior to their first-leg meeting.

At the time, Leeds were fined £200,000 and reprimanded by the EFL, and in the space of six years, we have the latest instalment on Teesside way - one we wouldn’t have expected to come around so soon.

This will only fuel the fire for Saturday’s meeting though, with the Riverside Stadium expected to be a cauldron of noise, as they look to roar on their side to victory over Tonda Eckert’s men.