Southampton have suggested they may not have got a fair punishment due to two members of the EFL disciplinary panel on Spygate having “historic and indirect connections” to Middlesbrough.
Saints were chucked out of the Championship play-off final and docked four points for next season after admitting charges of spying on their rivals throughout the season. After losing to Southampton in the semi-finals, Boro were reinstated and lost 1-0 to Hull City in the £200million final at Wembley.
The FA has now launched its own investigation into the matter, leaving manager Tonda Eckert under the microscope.
The arbitration panel released their written reasons in the disciplinary case on Monday, prompting a jaw-dropping statement from the Championship club. They have suggested bias against Southampton in the process, while also alleging that the “most serious allegations appear not to have been supported by direct evidence”.
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The club’s statement read: “Southampton Football Club notes today’s publication by the Arbitration Panel of the written reasons behind our unsuccessful appeal of the sanctions the Disciplinary Panel previously imposed on us in the EFL proceedings.
“We accept that the club breached the relevant regulations, and we recognise that the disciplinary bodies were entitled to conclude that proof of sporting advantage was not necessary in order to establish a serious offence.
“The club accepts that aspects of our initial response to the situation were not treated with the level of scrutiny they required at the time. In hindsight, we wish this had been managed differently from the outset and this represented an error of judgement for which we take responsibility. Despite this, we are happy with the way in which we admitted the charges and offered our full cooperation and honesty once the formal EFL investigation process had started.
View 2 ImagesSouthampton were kicked out of the play-off final after ‘SpyGate'(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
“We also note that the club was judged against the very highest standards of integrity and good faith. That is entirely proper. What is harder to accept is that similar scrutiny does not appear to have been applied to the composition of the disciplinary panel itself, given the apparent historic and indirect connections of two panel members to Middlesbrough. While those connections do not by themselves prove bias, they plainly raise legitimate questions about consistency, perception and the standards of independence expected in proceedings of this magnitude.
“The club is also concerned by the weight placed on assertions that junior staff were pressurised into involvement, when some of the most serious allegations appear not to have been supported by direct evidence. That said, junior employees should never have been placed in a position where they felt under pressure, and the club accepts responsibility for that failure of leadership and oversight.
“This case has ultimately been decided on the basis that breach and attempted breach were enough, regardless of whether any sporting benefit was actually obtained. In fact, at no stage was there any finding that the club actually obtained any sporting advantage as a result of the conduct in question.
“That is a severe interpretation, but one the disciplinary authorities were entitled to adopt under the rules as written. Southampton Football Club will now reflect carefully on the published reasons, review its internal processes and ensure that governance, oversight and decision-making procedures are strengthened as a result.
“Our responsibility now is to acknowledge what has happened, take ownership of the lessons it brings, and use this experience to strengthen our judgement, discipline, and integrity moving forward together as a club.”
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