I believe this hearing is about this specific instance of cheating

AFAIK Southampton have not denied the charges, so the tribunal will need to judge what it considers to be the appropriate punishment for that offence alone. I am with you, that a deliberate breach of a widely publicised rule feels egregious, and a 20k fine (or whatever) will basically signal its open season for the richer clubs to break that rule whenever it suits them. Surely a sporting sanction is necessary. Either that, or just ditch the rule, and have sides conduct open training with the opposition invited along. Who actually wants that as an outcome?

But it's been widely reported that other clubs believe they have evidence that Southampton spied on them during the regular season - including us. I want to know if this is true. Because then this becomes about a really prolonged continuous stream of rule breaches.

So why didnt these clubs report it at the time? Feels obvious to me - no club will have expected an opponent to intentionally break a recently added rule, so nobody had heightened security and vigilance for this possible breach. When they Southampton got busted by Boro, you go back and check the security tapes, if you have them, and lo and behold, there is someone with a camera filming your session shortly before you play Southampton. Maybe exactly the same person as pictured spying on Boro.

What if it comes out that Southampton spied on us before that very tight 1-0 away defeat? That was a really close game - we probably should have got something - but the win was a critical result for them. And, at the time, for us and our hopes of making the playoffs.

I've heard Bristol City and Millwall mentioned as others that have "evidence". Although Southampton lost to Millwall early on Eckert's time, Southampton drew with Millwall on new years day. Bristol beat Southampton at home before Eckert took over, but escaped with a draw in a key game late in the season. A couple of tight games there - what did they learn from their spying that might have tipped things their way?

Having counted back, Southampton won points in games that finished level, or where they won by a single goal, on 18 occasions since Eckert took over. What if spying was the thing that JUST gave the edge in even a few of those? And that's not counting games they won easily, where maybe they only did so as they spotted a key weakness before hand on the tape.

What if internal evidence shows they have spied on every opponent since Eckert took over? Doesnt that shine a rather different light on their incredible unbeaten run?

They also won four of their FA Cup ties by a single goal. Did they spy on all those opponents too?

For me, this is about far more than "did they spy on Boro, and did it change the outcome?". I want to hear details of what they've been up to all season under Eckert.

Posted By: Under soil heating on May 18th 2026 at 11:29:45

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