LEEDS FINED OVER SPYING SCANDAL
LEEDS have been fined £200,000 and given a severe reprimand by the EFL after their investigation into spying.
The Championship side had been under the spotlight after manager Marcelo Bielsa, left, admitted to spying on rival clubs. A member of his staff was caught at Derby’s training ground ahead of the teams’ clash last month, won 2-0 by Leeds.
The club admitted a breach of regulations in failing to behave in good faith and EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “Actions such as this cannot be condoned and this is a clear deterrent should any club seek to undertake poor conduct.”
A new rule is also set to be introduced that will prohibit sides from viewing opposition training in the 72 hours prior to a fixture, unless invited to do so.
Bielsa confessed to spying on all of Leeds’ opponents this season but remained adamant no specific rules had been broken.
The club said in a statement: “We have fallen short of the standard expected. We apologise for acting in a way that has been judged culturally unacceptable in the English game.”
SHAUN HARVEY will step down as chief executive of the English Football League at the end of the season.
The 48-year-old has run the league since October 2013, having previously been a managing director at Bradford and chief executive at Leeds.
Harvey’s departure means the
EFL, Football Association and Premier League are all on the hunt for new bosses.
FA chief Martin Glenn announced last year he would leave at the end of the season and Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore has already done so. Harvey is understood to be interested in the Premier League job but offered no details about his next move.
Harvey, below, has come under increasing pressure from several Championship clubs unhappy about the domestic broadcasting deal he struck with Sky last year.
Almost half the clubs in the division believed £590million over five years was not enough, the deal was too long when the sports rights market was changing so quickly and not enough protection had been given to the clubs’ own streaming businesses.