KIM HELLBERG has accused Southampton of “cheating” in the build-up to the play-off semi-finals, claiming that a fine would be insufficient punishment if the Saints were proven guilty of spying on a Middlesbrough training session.
Boro drew 0-0 at the Riverside in the first leg of their semi-final, but the match was utterly overshadowed by Thursday’s happenings at Rockliffe Park, where Boro say a member of Southampton’s analytical team was caught spying on a training session.
Boro alerted Southampton to the EFL, and the Saints were later penalized with violating league standards. An Independent Disciplinary Committee will now rule on the matter, with a variety of potential punishments available if they find Southampton guilty.
Tonda Eckert stormed out of his post-match press conference, refusing to address the incident in any depth, but Hellberg was far more forthcoming in his assessment, accusing Southampton of cheating to gain an advantage ahead of the first leg.
“It was a strange situation,” admitted the Boro boss. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I couldn’t believe it when they told me for the second or third time, but it was clear that they – and I’m not putting anything on Southampton’s players or supporters; I think they’re brilliant and had nothing to do with it; I sometimes feel sorry for them because they get this thrown at them – but someone made a decision to go and try to cheat, that’s clear.
“It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I was attempting to concentrate on the session as much as possible. Some individuals argue that seeing the games on film is not a significant advantage, yet it is.
“To be honest, saying that is strange. But if we played that game today, we’d never employ the same shape we did in the first half. That was hard to determine from any game you saw. Set-plays and goal kicks are simply unfair, and I believe everyone would agree on that. “We’ll see what happens.”
Boro believes they caught a member of Eckert’s analytical team filming from the golf course that overlooks Boro’s training site, and if this is verified, Hellberg believes the premeditated aspect of what occurred heightens the gravity of the offense.
“It’s different things I feel,” he said. “We are angry, but we also have mutual respect. There is mutual respect, which they have completely lost. And, once again, when I say “they,” I mean the people who did it, not the club.
“That leaves me disappointed. I would never do that. It’s a massive game, but you should try to gain an advantage in a fair manner. Things can happen in the heat of the moment – for example, a dive that decides the game and deceive the referee. This is something that they meticulously planned in order to succeed.
Leeds United received a £200,000 punishment in 2019 after Marcelo Bielsa admitted to asking his staff to eavesdrop on a Derby County training session. At the time, the EFL concluded that Leeds had violated ‘the spirit of the game’, but there was no formal legislation prohibiting the conduct.
Following Leeds’ punishment, the EFL implemented a regulation clearly prohibiting attempts to view opposition training sessions within 72 hours of a game, and Hellberg believes a cash penalty is no longer an acceptable response.
“Who will receive the fine? Should they just pay the EFL? So they watch everything we do, and that’s fine? I simply think it’s strange that they do that and attempt to cheat in this type of game,” he remarked.
“I know Bielsa paid £200,000, but that was not the law back then. I believe many clubs will pay that amount to gain an advantage by seeing you in the two sessions before a game. If it was a big game, teams would pay it, but it’s illegal, therefore they shouldn’t.”
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