Southampton have accepted “failure of leadership and oversight” in regard to junior employee care.
Southampton were expelled from the Championship Play-Off Final on 19 May after they were found guilty of breaching EFL Regulations 3.4 and 127 after analyst, William Salt was caught spying on Middlesbrough’s training session on 7 May – less than 72 hours before the pair played out a goalless semi-final first leg.
Further charges were brought under both regulations after it emerged that Oxford United and Ipswich had too been spied on during the season.
The Saints subsequently won the second leg prior to expulsion which saw Middlesbrough reinstated only to lose to Hull City in the Play-Off Final, only after an appeal by Southampton failed nearly 27 hours after the original verdict and punishment were handed down.
The Arbitration Panel has today published written reasons in relation to Southampton’s unsuccessful appeal which led the club to issue a statement, in which they accepted the breaches with ‘proof of sporting advantage’ not necessary in the establishment of the nature of the offence.
They also acknowledged that they mishandled elements of their initial response to the charges and apologised for their failings.
‘We accept that the club breached the relevant regulations, and we recognise that the disciplinary bodies were entitled to conclude that proof of sporting advantage was not necessary in order to establish a serious offence.
‘The club accepts that aspects of our initial response to the situation were not treated with the level of scrutiny they required at the time.
‘In hindsight, we wish this had been managed differently from the outset and this represented an error of judgement for which we take responsibility. Despite this, we are happy with the way in which we admitted the charges and offered our full cooperation and honesty once the formal EFL investigation process had started.’
Southampton proceeded to scrutinise the panel alleging that two members of the panel had previous connections to Middlesbrough, and called into question the integrity of independence within proceedings of this nature.
‘We also note that the club was judged against the very highest standards of integrity and good faith. That is entirely proper.
‘What is harder to accept is that similar scrutiny does not appear to have been applied to the composition of the disciplinary panel itself, given the apparent historic and indirect connections of two panel members to Middlesbrough.
‘While those connections do not by themselves prove bias, they plainly raise legitimate questions about consistency, perception and the standards of independence expected in proceedings of this magnitude.’
One aspect of the initial hearing found that junior interns had faced “pressure” but Southampton felt that some of the allegations hadn’t been properly backed up with thorough ‘evidence.’
‘The club is also concerned by the weight placed on assertions that junior staff were pressurised into involvement, when some of the most serious allegations appear not to have been supported by direct evidence.
‘That said, junior employees should never have been placed in a position where they felt under pressure, and the club accepts responsibility for that failure of leadership and oversight.’
The club ultimately admitted that the ‘breach and attempted’ breach proved enough for the panel to find them guilty irrespective of ‘sporting benefit’, yet argued that the take was ‘severe’ amidst vow that they didn’t ‘actually obtain any sporting advantage as a result of the conduct in question.’
‘This case has ultimately been decided on the basis that breach and attempted breach were enough, regardless of whether any sporting benefit was actually obtained. In fact, at no stage was there any finding that the club actually obtained any sporting advantage as a result of the conduct in question.
‘That is a severe interpretation, but one the disciplinary authorities were entitled to adopt under the rules as written.’
Southampton now intend to launch careful reflection and internal review to strengthen their procedures to prevent any repeat behaviour.
‘Southampton Football Club will now reflect carefully on the published reasons, review its internal processes and ensure that governance, oversight and decision-making procedures are strengthened as a result.
‘Our responsibility now is to acknowledge what has happened, take ownership of the lessons it brings, and use this experience to strengthen our judgement, discipline, and integrity moving forward together as a club.’
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