Oxford united FC
Southampton sorry for ‘bad judgement’ as EFL charge them for ‘Spygate’
Southampton admitted to the ‘Spygate’ scandal, which saw them kicked out of the Sky Bet Championship play-off final in May.
Southampton boss Tonda Eckert apologised for his “bad judgement” in the affair, which involved the club observing training sessions of Middlesbrough, Oxford, and Ipswich.
Saints were found to have spied on the Yellows on December 23 and 24 ahead of their trip to the Kassam on Boxing Day.
The scandal came to light after Southampton were caught watching a Middlesbrough training session before the first leg of their play-off semi-final.
Despite beating Middlesbrough over two legs to reach the play-off final, they were disqualified, and the North East side was reinstated.
Middlesbrough went on to lose to Hull.
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The EFL charged Southampton after it was revealed they had also spied on sessions involving Oxford and Ipswich.
Previous details of Tonda Eckert’s side spying on Oxford back in December had been revealed, stating that the Saints boss wanted information on the formation of caretaker head coach Craig Short’s Yellows.
The U’s had sacked former head coach Gary Rowett on December 23 and were under the leadership of caretaker boss Craig Short for the festive fixture.
Under a new head coach, there were certainly questions at the time over whether the U’s would change formation after struggling with a back five under Rowett which saw him sacked after the 1-0 away defeat to Charlton Athletic the game prior.
Short then opted for a back four against Southampton which led Oxford to a 2-1 victory despite the now-known spying of the visitors.
As punishment, Southampton will start the upcoming season with a four-point deficit.
Mr Eckert admitted that some of the public criticism has been “tough to read”.
He told BBC Radio Solent: “It hurts for a number of different reasons.
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“It’s tough to read some of the things that are out there, I’ve held my hand up for this judgement on something I have authorised.”
The St Mary’s club published a statement on their website, as well as a statement from the chairman – he says he will not sack Eckert following the offences – and the head coach on social media.
The Saints were booted out of the Championship play-off final after being found to have breached EFL rules by spying on Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town, and Oxford.
After beating Boro in the semi-final, Southampton were replaced by the Teesside club in the final at Wembley who were then beaten 1-0 by Hull City, the Tigers securing promotion to the Premier League.
Thames Valley Police has confirmed that Aiden Murray, 23, of Little Bury, Oxford, has been charged with one count of breaching a Football Banning Order. He has been bailed to appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 14 January 2027.
The police force has also confirmed that a 19-year-old man from Wokingham was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after damage was caused to a bus. He has since been released on conditional bail.
A 16-year-old boy from Reading was also arrested on suspicion of a Section 5 Public Order Act offence and failing to provide details under Section 50 of the Police Reform Act. He has been released on bail pending further enquiries.
Thames Valley Police has also confirmed that there were 19 Section 35 dispersals issued in Reading and Oxford, four of which were issued by British Transport Police.
Whilst Section 60AA powers were used to require individuals to remove face coverings. All individuals complied with officers’ requests and, as such, no breaches were recorded.
A Section 35 order gives police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) the power to direct individuals causing, or likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to leave a specified area.
A Section 60AA order gives uniformed officers the power to require any person to remove items worn wholly or mainly to conceal their identity, such as face coverings, and to seize any item they reasonably believe is intended for that purpose.
The U’s away match at Wigan Athletic has been delayed by 24 hours and will now be played on January 20, with an 8pm kick-off. It will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event.
The return Thames Valley Derby against Reading, scheduled for February 6, will start at 12.30pm.
United’s home fixture against Luton Town on February 27 will also be shown on television and will kick off at 12.30pm.
The U’s are third in the League One table and have gone 10 games unbeaten. They beat Thames Valley rivals Reading 2-0 on Wednesday night.
Broadcast selections for March 5-8, 2027, will be announced by February 5, with weekly announcements then covering four weeks ahead.
Cumming was left out of the squad due to suspension as Oxford beat Thames Valley rivals Reading 2-0 in League One, whilst Helik was forced off in the second half with an injury.
The win saw Reading-born duo Gatlin O’Donkor and Mo Missanga score at the Kassam Stadium to extend the Yellows’ league unbeaten run to 10 games.
U’s goalkeeper Cumming was not available in midweek after being sent off in the final minutes against Barnsley last weekend.
The club had appealed against the red card, with Ramsey providing an update after the match: “They said the decision was the same as the ref’s decision, and they didn’t want to change it.
“So, look, it is what it is. We have to deal with it.
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“And then, look, it gives opportunity again for Simon Eastwood to come in and have another solid performance with a clean sheet.
“So, we have players who are ready.”
Cumming will see out a three-game suspension, with it understood that he will miss the weekend’s FA Cup clash with Stevenage but will be available in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy against Cheltenham Town.
The United boss also opened up on the injury to Helik, saying: “He had a knock on his knee from the last match [against Barnsley].
“He’s done well to get through the minutes that he did tonight.
“He felt it a little bit, but no risk taken there.
“So, an opportunity now for him to recover a little bit before the league starts up again.
“We’ll assess him. We’ll see how he responds over the next few days.”
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