I spy Bielsa’s shock admission sends Lampard into a fury
Leeds’ Argentine coach admits full responsibilty ‘This is normal practice back in South America’
Frank Lampard was in no mood to accept Marcelo Bielsa’s explanation for sending a spy to watch Derby County train following a chastening 2-0 defeat at Elland Road, and claimed the Leeds manager’s behaviour amounted to cheating.
Bielsa denied he had gained an unfair sporting advantage ahead of last night’s match, but the Football Association has confirmed it is going to investigate.
The Argentine tried to take the sting out of the scandal by admitting he was solely responsible, but he stopped short of apologising, insisting he had contacted the Derby manager to explain his behaviour rather than justify it.
“I don’t think it’s right, I can’t see how anyone who plays sport thinks it right,” said Lampard. “I don’t see why you would do it if you did not think you were going to get a sporting advantage.
“Cheating is a big word, but if you talk about details and gaining an advantage, it’s not just a toe, it’s a hop, skip and jump as far as I’m concerned.
“To find out an opposition manager has sent someone undercover to spy on our training session, I believe that is wrong. I’ve always admired Bielsa from afar, his innovative methods, I’ve got his book at home, but when I find something like this, if this is what he feels it takes, that’s not for me
“When you come in with tools, pliers and bolt cutters to break into private property, to crawl on your hands and knees to spy on a training session, it goes beyond what is right, I believe.
“We can’t open the door to this happening every week. I don’t think there is a specific rule that has been broken. I don’t know what needs to be done, that’s not for me to decide. The guy hasn’t committed a criminal offence, but it’s going to be ridiculous if this sort of thing goes on.
“If we’re going to start talking about ‘culturally, I did it somewhere else’ – that doesn’t work for me. If I’m lucky enough to do well and travel to another country, I’ll find out what the etiquette is in that country and abide by that.
has disrupted our build-up to this game. Obviously it’s not just Derby, we had somebody the day before our first game against them which we lost 4-1. Now Leeds can beat you 4-1, they’re a fantastic team, but we had somebody in the bushes that day, twice this season now.”
Bielsa’s behaviour is likely to have upset other Championship managers, as they will suspect their training sessions have also been spied on by the league leaders.
But while the 63-year-old said he must respect the moral code of the country he is working in, he was generally dismissive of the criticism it has attracted.
“I can explain my behaviour, but I cannot justify it because I have to respect the norms in the country that I work,” he said. “I’ve done this practice many times.
“I started when I was trying to qualify for the World Cup with Argentina and Chile. It’s something legal in South America, when this goes public it does not provoke the same sense of indignation that it does in England.
“If you watch a training session from a public space it’s not illegal, you cannot involve the police. It does not generate the indignation it does in this country.
“I don’t feel as though I’m someone who has cheated for one main reason, first of all I didn’t get any advantage from this situation, just an additional source of information.
“Frank Lampard told me I have violated the fair play rules, I understand it. But I didn’t call him to apologise, I contacted him to say I was responsible. He was direct in his answer and I respect that. I do not feel as though I’m a person who has cheated.”