Spygate

[SerbianLad]

https://x.com/TheLawyerCSmith/status/2057162598068469848

He must have cost a pretty penny!

[HV71]

https://x.com/TheLawyerCSmith/status/2057162598068469848

He must have cost a pretty penny!

" Goldfinger "

He's the man , the man with the Midas touch "

[v]

https://x.com/TheLawyerCSmith/status/2057162598068469848

He must have cost a pretty penny!

Let's see...Saints have got Pannick and Boggs defending them.
Fans must be bricking it 🚽🧻

[demeant0r]

Saints have lost their appeal.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn4p284ny2ko

[demeant0r]

https://www.dailymail.com/sport/football/article-15835557/southampton-appeal-dismissed-championship-play-off.html

However, after the appeal was unsuccessful, they could now face legal action from their own players. Daily Mail Sport understands the squad have missed out on a potential bonus of £250,000 per player for promotion to the Premier League. Several players are considering their legal options after it was revealed to us that contracts included a £150,000 bonus for those who have appeared in 50 per cent of matches. Anything less than 50 per cent was awarded on a pro-rata basis.

There was also a one-off pool payment worth at least £2million to be shared among the group, taking the possible windfall to a quarter-of-a-million-pound per man. There was then the guarantee of relegation wage drops being restored - some as high as 40 per cent, equating to as much as £1million per year - had Southampton beaten Hull in the final at Wembley. Others had wage-related promotion incentives.

The squad's senior leaders have discussed the matter and are said to be furious, not only because of the financial impact, but the sporting loss of the chance to play in the Premier League.

Saints were kicked out of the final on Tuesday after admitting to spying on Middlesbrough and two other rival teams during an independent disciplinary hearing. They were also docked four points ahead of next season. Incriminating text-message evidence between Saints employees, including head coach Tonda Eckert, was key to the case against them. We understand Eckert would have taken charge of the final, but his long-term future is less certain.

Southampton could now face a class action from their own squad over a potential loss of earnings. We have been told players were unaware of the spying practice. It also thought that technical director Johannes Spors was not implicated during the hearing and had no knowledge of the systemic spying taking place within the first-team set-up.

[Eton White]

Interesting about the squad sueing the club, but I'm not sure they'll get anywhere with it.

The probability is that Southampton wouldn't have been anywhere near the play offs if they hadn't cheated so I'm not sure the players are really missing out on bonuses.

[SerbianLad]

Interesting about the squad sueing the club, but I'm not sure they'll get anywhere with it.

The probability is that Southampton wouldn't have been anywhere near the play offs if they hadn't cheated so I'm not sure the players are really missing out on bonuses.

But the players had nothing to do with that from what I can tell. They are the real victims in all of this. I'm sure they gave their all and it's not their fault that the instructions they got came from cheating.

[Cambridge Away]

Looking on the positive side of all of this, the Middlesbrough staff member who saw him in the bushes should get a symbolic £1m bonus (if they get promoted).

[Eton White]

Interesting about the squad sueing the club, but I'm not sure they'll get anywhere with it.

The probability is that Southampton wouldn't have been anywhere near the play offs if they hadn't cheated so I'm not sure the players are really missing out on bonuses.

But the players had nothing to do with that from what I can tell. They are the real victims in all of this. I'm sure they gave their all and it's not their fault that the instructions they got came from cheating.

I agree the players had nothing to do with it, but why should they get pay outs? The bonuses would have been for promotion, not for giving your all.

[SerbianLad]

Interesting about the squad sueing the club, but I'm not sure they'll get anywhere with it.

The probability is that Southampton wouldn't have been anywhere near the play offs if they hadn't cheated so I'm not sure the players are really missing out on bonuses.

But the players had nothing to do with that from what I can tell. They are the real victims in all of this. I'm sure they gave their all and it's not their fault that the instructions they got came from cheating.

I agree the players had nothing to do with it, but why should they get pay outs? The bonuses would have been for promotion, not for giving your all.

Well obviously, but they could argue that they would have got promoted without the cheating and that the staff that did the cheating are the reason they lost their potential bonus.

[Eton White]

OK, I guess my point is, where would Southampton have finished without cheating?
4th,10th,18th,24th? We just don't know, but Southampton themselves obviously felt it necessary to cheat so it appears they didn't have enough confidence in the squad to gain promotion on their own merits.

I just think it would be difficult for the players to convince a court that they were capable of promotion if even their own manager and backroom staff felt they weren't.

[SerbianLad]

OK, I guess my point is, where would Southampton have finished without cheating?
4th,10th,18th,24th? We just don't know, but Southampton themselves obviously felt it necessary to cheat so it appears they didn't have enough confidence in the squad to gain promotion on their own merits.

I just think it would be difficult for the players to convince a court that they were capable of promotion if even their own manager and backroom staff felt they weren't.

I agree it would be difficult, I just understand where players are coming for. They probably feel like they deserved to be there and because of someone else's mistake they won't be

[Noah Vale]

Interesting about the squad sueing the club, but I'm not sure they'll get anywhere with it.

The probability is that Southampton wouldn't have been anywhere near the play offs if they hadn't cheated so I'm not sure the players are really missing out on bonuses.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Interesting about the squad sueing the club, but I'm not sure they'll get anywhere with it.

The probability is that Southampton wouldn't have been anywhere near the play offs if they hadn't cheated so I'm not sure the players are really missing out on bonuses.

But the players had nothing to do with that from what I can tell. They are the real victims in all of this. I'm sure they gave their all and it's not their fault that the instructions they got came from cheating.

The real victims are their supporters.

[ScalleysDad]

OK, I guess my point is, where would Southampton have finished without cheating?
4th,10th,18th,24th? We just don't know, but Southampton themselves obviously felt it necessary to cheat so it appears they didn't have enough confidence in the squad to gain promotion on their own merits.

I just think it would be difficult for the players to convince a court that they were capable of promotion if even their own manager and backroom staff felt they weren't.

I know we were poor bordering on useless for the cup game but they were everything we were not and didn't roll over in the next cup game. St Mary's had become a bit raucous as well so as a team it was starting to come together. I suspect with the speed the Board owned up to more than they were originally pinged for there might be more either now buried deep or shelved as the sanctions have been imposed. As Woolly says it's harsh on the fan base but I do have some sympathy for the players. Their revolving door might gather more speed than ours.

[Logicalman]

Interesting about the squad sueing the club, but I'm not sure they'll get anywhere with it.

The probability is that Southampton wouldn't have been anywhere near the play offs if they hadn't cheated so I'm not sure the players are really missing out on bonuses.

But the players had nothing to do with that from what I can tell. They are the real victims in all of this. I'm sure they gave their all and it's not their fault that the instructions they got came from cheating.

I agree the players had nothing to do with it, but why should they get pay outs? The bonuses would have been for promotion, not for giving your all.

Well obviously, but they could argue that they would have got promoted without the cheating and that the staff that did the cheating are the reason they lost their potential bonus.

They cannot claim they would got promoted because the final game was not played. If all this had happened AFTER the final game, and they had won, that would be different. One cannot argue facts based on events that have not taken place.

[MikeTheCubed]

Suing the club for loss of earnings/bonuses here would set a dangerous precedent. I don't believe this has happened before when a club has been denied a chance of promotion or been relegated following a breach of financial regulations, which can similarly be argued to not be the fault of the players.

[demeant0r]

Suing the club for loss of earnings/bonuses here would set a dangerous precedent. I don't believe this has happened before when a club has been denied a chance of promotion or been relegated following a breach of financial regulations, which can similarly be argued to not be the fault of the players.

Only if the players win the lawsuit. Who's to say Southampton would've won the final anyway?

[Neutral Zone Ultra]

Suing the club for loss of earnings/bonuses here would set a dangerous precedent. I don't believe this has happened before when a club has been denied a chance of promotion or been relegated following a breach of financial regulations, which can similarly be argued to not be the fault of the players.

Only if the players win the lawsuit. Who's to say Southampton would've won the final anyway?

Southampton themselves seemed to imply they would given they were having a moan about losing £200m in their statement and appeal! So if their players sued them then they'd have to u turn and say actually nah we were never going to win.

[Logicalman]

I find this all a little messy, tbh.
The acts occurred on May 7, it was reported to the EFL May 8th, the 1st leg game was played May 9th and the second leg on the 12th.

Given that time was going to be a massive factor in this as the time period between the first SF and the Final, why did the EFL wait a week to make such a momentous decision?
All the pertinent facts were know by 7th May, the decision/announcement was made on 19th, just 4 days before the final. Absolute incompetence by the EFL. The hearing - and decision - should have been made by the 14th - 2 days after the second leg was played.

Hull City are rightly aggrieved that they have only 4 days to review their game tactics, but the reports they will sue if they lose is just hedging their bets, and bad faith. I have no doubt that in the three days between the first and second play-off legs tactics are changed based on the first leg tactics used by the oppos, and it's not like they haven't played Soton twice already this season.

As for Josh Windass, his last name suitably describes what's coming out the other end! They lose to Boro, get hammered by Soton, and all he can do is eject toys from the pram.