IT may be against the grain but calls for Southampton to be booted out of Saturday’s Championship play-off final are ridiculous and hysterical.
Don’t get me wrong, what they were allegedly attempting by sending their analyst Will Salt to Middlesbrough’s training ground to snoop on Kim Hellberg’s men was a disgrace.
It was a clear breach of EFL rules — and if found guilty they should rightly be sanctioned.
But let’s get one thing straight, Middlesbrough did not lose their play-off semi-final against Southampton because of some young bloke hiding behind a tree armed with a mobile phone.
They lost because they couldn’t hit a barn door in the first leg at the Riverside.
You cannot blame some MI5 wannabe for strikers suffering from a complete lack of confidence in front of goal.
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If Saints’ alleged snoop extracted meaningful top-secret tactical info from Boro’s training ground, he must have been holding his phone upside down — because whatever he gleaned was useless.
But the spying saga created huge controversy as it was a blatant attempt to cheat. Although we live in an era where cheating is subtly accepted.
Players dive like they’ve been mowed down by enemy gunners to win penalties or free-kicks.
And let’s not get started on shirt pulling and grappling at every single corner to gain an advantage. Snooping on an opponent is just another modern tool for a leg-up.
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But when you are a club of Middlesbrough’s stature, it is probably sensible to take steps so no one can spy on your sessions. Some clubs have training grounds built like Fort Knox.
Boro should at the very least have tactical privacy screens — which are high fences around the main training pitch.
Some even are made of material to minimise sound coming out too. At Manchester United’s Carrington complex, fences in some places are a whopping 26 feet tall.
The club I feel most sorry for in this circus is Hull. While this disciplinary process takes place, the Tigers don’t know who and when they’re playing.
The EFL has admitted the final could be delayed, pushed to midweek, or completely reshuffled. It’s a complete shambles.
Sergej Jakirovic’s side have had a truly fantastic season and thoroughly deserve to be in the final.
Last season they only managed to stay up on the last day of the season and here they are just one game away from potentially returning to the Premier League.
The final should go ahead at all costs … And although the spying saga stinks, Saints should be in it.
A big fine and a suspended points deduction should be the sanction — and let’s see Wembley get a licence to thrill.
