Southampton are awaiting the outcome of a disciplinary panel hearing following their alleged Spygate incident, with Middlesbrough hoping to be reinstated to the Championship play-off final. Six top football pundits have weighed in on what sanctions Spygate should bring for Southampton.
An independent disciplinary commission hearing will determine whether the club breached EFL regulations by observing Middlesbrough's training sessions in the lead-up to their semi-final first leg. Potential sanctions include fines, points deductions and expulsion from the playoffs before next weekend's Wembley Stadium final against Hull City. Given that it is an almost unprecedented scenario, opinions vary widely.
Danny Mills - No Punishment
Mills told Bet St George: "There is so much data out there in this day and age. Did anything dramatically change in the way they set up through being spied on? You've been playing the same way for 46 games. What new information can you actually learn?"
"Players and coaches will always try to get an edge. We'll always try to work out if someone in the camp can provide the team selection early. This has always happened in football; teams are often leaked through agents or family members."
Middlesbrough's training ground is very open. Having played there, I know you can see everything just by standing at the fence. It's no big deal. "I have even seen managers who, knowing other teams are watching, deliberately set up the wrong team during closed training sessions to throw off the opposition."
"Come on, it's not going to make that much difference. There are no huge secrets in those tactics, just get on with it."
Gabby Agbonlahor - Massive Fine
Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT: "I don't agree with (expulsion). It's overkill. I get it, Spygate, it's not on. But what would they really learn from watching Middlesbrough training? That's why it's so bizarre from Southampton. What are you going to learn that you can't see in every video of Middlesbrough's games this season? They're by far the better team for me; it's very odd."
"They say there's a chance of Middlesbrough going [into the play-off final], it's not going to happen. It's too much of a short turnaround. Southampton players haven't done anything, fans haven't done anything, it's the club, the manager that's allowed that to happen."
"A massive fine and move on, I don't think you can start saying Boro get the final or Hull go straight up."
Gaizka Mendieta - On the Fence
Mendieta told PlayUK: "It's like the AFCON drama, which is still going on. It was very similar. I've spoken to a couple of people who say that Boro will go ahead and try to change the result."
"This must be really hard for the players, in their heads they might feel like they should already be on holiday, some of them might've had flights booked just in case. Mentally, it's obviously more difficult than it is physically. Physically, players are fit. It's about how you keep the players engaged and committed to the attention that is required for a huge game like that."
"But for now, they should stay there, we don't know for how long it will last. The faster it is sorted, the better it is for Boro and for football. If they somehow make it to the final, I'd back Boro to win."
Jobi McAnuff - Outright Cheating
McAnuff said on Sky Sports: "Well, I would absolutely echo those sentiments to describe this situation [as disgusting]. At this stage of the season, to go to that extent, if it is proven. Listen, there are charges, so there's got to be some sort of evidence there."
"This game and what we love about football in this country is integrity. Every time you go onto that pitch, win, lose or draw, there's an element of fairness. This absolutely blows that all out of the water, you know, whatever you want to dress it up, there's no other word to describe it than as cheating. To go onto another club's training facility, which should be private when you're building up to a big game. You should be able to work on your tactics."
"We don't know the extent of the video or photographic evidence, but clearly, there has potentially been an attempt to gain an unfair advantage. I'm all for competitive edge with a little balance, but there's so much around now, you know, in terms of data and stuff that you can get from the games. There should be absolutely no need to have to go to these lengths to try and gain an edge like this. It's not an edge, it's outright cheating."
Nicky Butt - No Punishment
Butt told Paddy Power: "It's been going on for years. I remember when we (Manchester United) first started playing in Europe, I was probably about 20, we used to always train the night before a game at the ground, and the manager (Sir Alex Ferguson) would never ever, ever do the real starting eleven. He'd always do a fake one. He'd never do set pieces; he'd have two star players limp off with ice packs on their hamstrings because he was always thinking people were watching."
"People can say, 'It's not right, it's cheating'. It's just what it is in high-level football. Teams will know the starting XI, you know all the players, you can just go and watch games anytime you want. They can see it all on WyScout."
"It's a bit stupid really. If Southampton need to watch Middlesbrough like this after a full season, then the manager, all the recruitment team and all the scouting team should be sacked on the spot. They should know everything about them - there's no secrets in football. They know who's injured, they know who's not injured. Anyone who is 80 per cent fit to play will play in a semi-final second leg."
"It is a ruling in the FA, and I get it, but it's been going on for years, and it will go on for years again. I don't see the problem with it. You can go and watch training at most grounds from a distance."
"Maybe some of the high-level Premier League ones are like Fort Knox, but most (training) grounds up and down the country and around the world, you can get within 100 metres of a fence to watch training. What are you going to be able to tell the manager the next day? 'I know how to beat Middlesbrough because I've seen a lad do a little run down the side'. It's just bulls***, it's ridiculous. It's so childish."
"It will happen with every single manager. But any manager that calls people cheats over it are hypocrites because they're doing exactly the same. Maybe not through their own eyes, but through sending other people to watch it."
Simon Jordan - Big Fine
Jordan said on talkSPORT: "The interesting thing is going to be how this plays out and what the scenario is. I can't imagine the EFL are going to want to pull Southampton out of the play-offs and change the whole direction and integrity of one of the biggest games in English football with the biggest value attached to it."
"I think there is very little doubt that Southampton are culpable for this. I think there is very little doubt in Middlesbrough's mind, I think there is very little doubt in the EFL's mind. I think there is very little doubt in Southampton's mind."
"The argument then will become about what the ramifications of it are. I would imagine that Steve (Gibson) would have operated in a certain way and asked Southampton, when they stepped into his boardroom, probably if I am reading him right and knowing him as I do, to atone for it."
"I would view this as Middlesbrough, knowing Steve as I know him, they won't necessarily want to make a big song and dance about it because they do not want to be seen as the team that potentially disrupts the play-offs or cries wolf or whines about something. They will want to do it a different way."
