Southampton ask for more time to conduct internal review of spying accusations

[p]The ‌Saints host their promotion rivals at ‌St Mary's on Tuesday in the second ‌leg of the Championship playoff semi-final after ‌a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/middlesbrough-6F0lvLNC/southampton-WdKOwxDM/?mid=06SB4db6"]0-0 draw[/a] on Saturday.[/p][p]The winners face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/hull-city/S66R0t75/"]Hull City[/a] in a Wembley final for a ‌place in the top flight.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/southampton/WdKOwxDM/"]Southampton[/a] were ⁠charged by ‌the English Football League (EFL) on Friday after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/middlesbrough/6F0lvLNC/"]Middlesbrough[/a] complained ​of unauthorised filming at their training ground ahead of the first ​leg at the Riverside Stadium.[/p][p]While Southampton would normally have 14 days to respond, the ⁠EFL said it ​wanted an independent disciplinary commission hearing as soon as possible.[/p][embed guid="9e6681d3-cb2b-4368-bb26-991f4e0311f9" url="https://x.com/TheAthleticFC/status/2054117122368737374" social-type="twitter" /][p]Southampton CEO Phil Parsons said in a statement that the club was ‌fully cooperating while also undertaking an internal review to ensure that all facts and context were properly understood.[/p][p][b]"Given the intensity of the fixture schedule and the short turnaround between matches, we have requested time to complete that process thoroughly and responsibly,"[/b] he said.[/p][p]"We understand the discussion and speculation ‌that has followed over recent days, ​but we also believe it is important ‌that the full context is established before conclusions are drawn."[/p][p]Southampton manager Tonda Eckert declined to answer questions on the controversy, walking out of his post-match press ⁠conference on Saturday ⁠as reporters persisted.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/soccer-championship-spygate-explained-championship-play-off-potentially-thrown-into-turmoil/CM0xGtsI/"][b]Find out more about the story of 'Spygate' here.[/b][/a][/p]