Southampton scandal: Coach forces trainee to secretly film opponents.

On the evening of June 1st, The Sun newspaper continued to expose more dark details of the "espionage" scandal that rocked England involving Southampton FC.

Southampton FC admits to spying on Middlesbrough during the Championship play-off round - Photo: REUTERS

Previously, Southampton FC was eliminated from the play-off final for promotion to the Premier League in the 2026-2027 season (a match worth up to £200 million) and had 4 points deducted for the following season.

This heavy penalty was handed down after Southampton admitted to spying on numerous rivals.

According to the latest documents released by the English Football League (EFL), Southampton manager Tonda Eckert exploited the fear of job loss among interns to force them to scout three rival clubs: Oxford, Ipswich, and Middlesbrough.

Trainee Will Salt was caught secretly filming Middlesbrough's training session - Photo: The Sun

One intern involved in the incident, Will Salt, shared: "I really had no choice and couldn't say no. I was just an intern and had to follow orders."

When Salt considered refusing out of fear, the only response he received from the coaching staff was: "The boss insists someone must go."

The whole thing came to light on May 7th when Salt was caught red-handed filming by Middlesbrough FC staff.

In a panic, the intern fled to a nearby golf course, hastily changed clothes, and deleted his personal LinkedIn account to hinder the investigation.

Even more surprisingly, when the league organizers (EFL) requested an explanation, Southampton's CEO, Phil Parsons, lied.

He asserted that the club had not issued any directives and that no secretly recorded footage existed.

Will Salt is featured in the photo honoring Southampton's Manager of the Month - Photo: Reddit

To cover their tracks, Southampton's analysis team even asked the media team to remove the images congratulating the manager of the month, simply because the intern who was acting as a "spy" was in the picture.

However, faced with overwhelming evidence from the English Football League (EFL), Southampton ultimately had to admit guilt.

Southampton also issued a belated apology for forcing trainees to commit misconduct.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/be-boi-tai-southampton-hlv-ep-thuc-tap-sinh-quay-len-doi-thu-2026060213301722.htm