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Yep... I appreciate it's conspiracy territory but, it does actually make all the dots join up, theoretically... As you say, we know that there are always plenty of Middlesbrough fans milling around the golf course / hotel area watching sessions from that very same vantage point... What aroused their suspicions this time compared to all other times... As you say, them having prior knowledge it that Salt was going to be there is perhaps the only way all the pieces of the jigsaw make sense... If it was a trap then, yes, we were stupid to fall for it and should still be penalised, but there is definitely something that doesn't add up with all of this IMO...

They would have probably made exactly the same complaint about whichever other mugs had to play them in the semis. And would have still lost over 2 legs. Because they're bottling, cry baby bell ends.

The BBC are correct, there's no right of appeal to CAS. The arbitration clause provides for the panel that are determining this charge, then any appeal. That's binding. The regulations are what matters. Link to them here: https://images.gc.eflservices.co.uk/526ac020-67b3-11f0-9ba4-015464ec39cd.pdf Sections 8 and 9 sets out the answer to your questions - pages 129 to 142.

LOL - I wouldn't have even thought of doing that, but it's bloody obvious really 😂

Of course they do. It's impossible and impractical to prevent it. The Premier League don't. Anyone who describes it as 'spying' is an amateur journalist at best. The EFL has created a problem for itself by introducing a rule without specifying a sanction for transgression. Had we not been in the playoffs what action would Middlesbrough have taken?

Whatever precedent the EFL sets, all clubs, including Saints will be looking for evidence of spying this season. So if it’s a points deduction and a fine, and we then go and find evidence of another club spying on us within the 72 hour window - then surely the same applies to them. Hence the cluster fuck this is for the EFL.

As much as Id love it to be, I find it completely implausible that this is a set up, if it is it’s absolutely batshit IMO, he was there, probably as instructed by the analysts, and thats it We’ll be fined or points deducted next time we’re in the championship and thats it

Its not "their case" ffs. They can report to the EFL and make a complaint to them. Its then EFLs case to take action on.

I think part of the issue is probably the underhand nature of it in general. Or atleast in the case I know of. But I myself, and I know of a lot of other clubs that have done it, send people to hotels before games to check who is signing in etc, to find out whether players are fit or not. Spying in some form, goes on all the time. Just usually less blatant than an iphone behind a tree. Not sure that can be used as a defence mind!

agree, sounds like a bit of a set up. Like i said earlier the picture is taken from the other side of the grounds from where the security guys were. Would be very interesting if it comes out that it was all a set up. Obviously they will say that we shouldn't have done it but also poor innocent wronged Middlesborough are actually devious cunts.

Agreed, look at the speed they had this wrapped up and delivered to EFL, I think they knew already he would be there

Boro not in the final hearing (EFL V Saints) but they have presented their case and evidence.

They’re very odd, northerners. Someone who my relative works with, a northerner now adopted into the South, refuses to wear a coat / jacket in cold weather as he’s “from the north”. Apparently it just results in him being ill a lot of the time.

Everyone spies outside of the 72 hour window, I expect everyone tries inside it too Its a non story

I’ll go first… Are you a spy?

Cheers for the insight... Does your line of work just give you an insight into what Saints might have done in the past in this regard, or would it cover other clubs as well? P.s. key bit in bold there...

Blackbore has always been like that, not a fan of his. Middlesbrough have tried to turn this into a Propaganda war he should be able to see that

I think because ultimately its Saints vs the EFL either can appeal based on the independants decision. Realistically I think only us will appeal.

The photo of Salt continues to baffle me. I'm sure Boro staff often spot people in and close to that place by the tree. Would they not just send someone to check them out and politely move them on. Surely they don't photograph everyone. The photo of Salt looks as though it could only have been done with a zoom lens. So why did they seemingly decide the photo was needed before talking to him. Smacks of them knowing he would be there and who he was so possibly some sort of set up on their part.

If only Middlesbrough were zero % emission. They’ve produced enough pollution this week, even without what spews out of Billingham, to blow a polo mint sized hole in the ozone layer.

I’m confused. The BBC article said there was no right of appeal to CAS. The EFL press release did mention “consideration of any appeal process if required”. So if we have a contract with the EFL that has an arbitration clause what is the nature of that dispute resolution provision? Presumably this is akin to a multi-tiered dispute resolution process and the tribunal currently appointed are equivalent to the expert determination phase? Arbitrations require a process, most importantly a process to appoint the tribunal, which we haven’t had? So we could apply for interim measure in support of the arbitral process such as an injunction to prevent the play off final taking place as long as no arbitral award had been issued. I agree that once an award has been issued, an English court is not going to give interim measures preventing the enforcement of a valid arbitration award in these circumstances. Does anyone have a copy of the agreement signed with the EFL? Also, normally there is an appeal available or there isn’t. One of the parties to the dispute, I.e. the EFL can’t decide if there’s going to be one, that doesn’t make sense. Can anyone explain this?

“I sometimes felt alone,” says Derrick Abu, who has been feeling his way in Valenciennes for the first year. The 22-year-old English right-back, who arrived last summer from Southampton, has made three appearances but has played very little this season. This is partly due to a more difficult adaptation to French life than he anticipated. A season has passed, and we still don't know what to make of Englishman Derrick Abu, who arrived last summer from Southampton. At 22, is the Chelsea academy graduate a talent waiting to take off, or just another player who has moved from club to club, like a pawn in the great game of multiple ownership? We haven't seen enough of him in action – just six matches – to be certain, even if memories of him in preseason last summer and the three matches he has just played suggest potential. But in between, there's an interminable tunnel of a season spent primarily in the reserves, far from the first team and the high hopes expressed upon arrival. "When you don't speak the language, when you can't communicate, it's frustrating, but the hardest part is everyday life. Doing your shopping, going to the doctor, calling a number for Wi-Fi, everything is different. It's sometimes a heavy burden," says Derrick Abu. "I wanted to play abroad, to take on this challenge. It didn't go as planned. I didn't expect to be so uninvolved, but it's ending better, so I prefer to look on the bright side," the Englishman says positively today. "All of this has made me stronger; it will serve me well." Derrick Abu describes his first year in France as a "roller coaster"—one that, one suspects, had far more lows than highs. Born in Germany to Nigerian parents who settled in England when he was three, the Briton has a taste for openness but admits he hadn't fully grasped how complicated it can be to integrate, young and alone, into a new country. "It took me time, but I'm 100% now." "When you don't speak the language, when you can't communicate, it's frustrating, but the hardest part is everyday life," he explains. "Shopping, going to the doctor, calling a number for Wi-Fi—everything is different. It can be a heavy burden. A teammate, after a bad day at training, can talk to his wife, hug his children. I won't deny it, even though I knew it would happen, there were times when I felt alone." All of this weighed more heavily on his mind than he imagined, and consequently on his performance. Almost a year after his arrival, Abu can already see the difference: his French has improved, he's settled into his new life at Valenciennes, and he now feels "at home." "It took me some time, but I'm 100% now," he promises. A little late for this season, which ends Friday against Châteauroux, but not without its advantages for what lies ahead. "Because I always look straight ahead," the Englishman asserts. In Valenciennes, he's not the only one who doesn't want to dwell too much on the past year. VALENCIENNES (10th) – CHÂTEAUROUX (16th), Friday, 7:30 p.m., Stade du Hainaut

If that's the case, then quite frankly, nobody should give a shit. I know I certainly don't, and I'm generally a pretty good egg. If it was a concern, 72 hours shouldn't be mention the rules.

no shit sherlock, im sure all teams scout each other out 😅