SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Southampton has asked for more time to complete an internal review after being charged with allegedly spying on Middlesbrough’s practice sessions ahead of the teams’ games in the Championship playoffs.
In a statement on Tuesday, Southampton said it was “fully cooperating” with English soccer authorities after being charged Friday with a breach of its regulations following accusations that unauthorized filming of Middlesbrough’s training took place.
The English Football League requested an independent disciplinary commission undertake a hearing “at the earliest opportunity.”
The teams drew 0-0 in the first leg of the playoff semifinals on Saturday, with the return match taking place in Southampton on Tuesday. The winner will face Hull in the playoff final at Wembley Stadium on May 23, with a place in the Premier League — and a windfall of at least 200 million pounds ($270 million) in future earnings — at stake.
“The club is fully cooperating with the EFL and the disciplinary commission, whilst also undertaking an internal review to ensure that all facts and context are properly understood,” Southampton CEO Phil Parsons said in the statement.
“Given the intensity of the fixture schedule and the short turnaround between matches, we have requested time to complete that process thoroughly and responsibly. We understand the discussion and speculation that has followed over recent days, but we also believe it is important that the full context is established before conclusions are drawn.”
Parsons said he was confident the club would stay united during the controversy.
“Our focus now turns fully to this evening’s game,” he wrote. “This is the time for all of us to get behind the team and create another special atmosphere at St Mary’s.”
The EFL said the charges against Southampton relate to regulations which require clubs “to act towards each other with the utmost good faith” and prohibit a club from “observing, or attempting to observe, another club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match” between the teams.
It is the second spying controversy to hit a Championship in recent years.
In 2019, the EFL fined Leeds 200,000 pounds (then $259,000) for spying on one of Derby’s training sessions ahead of a game between the teams.
Marcelo Bielsa, who was manager of Leeds at the time, accepted responsibility for having a club employee spy on Derby’s practice.
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