Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson took what was said to be an ‘aggressive’ legal approach to getting the maximum punishment for Southampton. And it seems to have worked, following the news Southampton have been thrown out of the Championship play-off final.
Memo to Southampton: if you’re going to indulge in industrial cheating, don’t get caught. Because the intern who Southampton manager Tonda Eckert sent to Teeside to spy on Middlesbrough’s training session ahead of the semi-final first leg has just cost his club a crack at winning the most expensive game in world football.
One worth more than £200million to the winners who make it to the promised land of the Premier League. As it turns out, Southampton have behaved like an amateur organisation from a pub league instead.
From Saints to sinners. And self confessed ones at that. Southampton admitted to spying on three different clubs this season, including Oxford United and Ipswich Town in addition to Middlesbrough.
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The independent disciplinary commission have also deducted them four points ahead of next season – and warned them as to their future conduct.
If Eckert sanctioned the spying mission, he should be sacked. Someone else may have been behind the camera, but if it was under his orders, the German should shoulder the blame.
And if he was acting on instructions from someone above him, then this person should be dismissed as well. The FA now has a responsibility to sanction and punish those individuals responsible.
Should Southampton sack Tonda Eckert? Have your say in the comments section.
View 2 ImagesIt’s unclear whether Tonda Eckert knew about the spying(Image: Robin Jones, Getty Images)
Southampton’s reputation is now in the gutter. The club will launch an appeal, which will be heard by a different commission panel.
But the outcome shouldn’t be different. It should remain the same. And well done to said commission. The pressure was on to act fast, given the timescale of the scenario. And it did do.
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The downfall of Southampton should be a severe warning to other clubs who think it acceptable to break the rules. While the manner in which this commission has dealt with the case is also an embarrassing lesson to those clowns who have spent more than 18 months failing to reach a decision on the 115 charges laid against Manchester City, for alleged breaches of financial rules.
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