Clubs demand full disclosure over Leeds’s scouting methods but no call made for sanctions
SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT: THE COLLECTIVE letter sent by Championship clubs asking for a full English Football League inquiry into the ‘Spygate’ controversy does not include any demand for Leeds United to be hit with a punishment such as a points deduction, The Yorkshire Post has learned.
A source close to one of the 11 sides behind the letter said it had requested “full disclosure” of United’s scouting techniques and included a series of questions about the dispute that arose before Leeds’s league win over Derby County 11 days ago.
The Elland Road club are under investigation by both the EFL and the Football Association after a member of head coach Marcelo Bielsa’s backroom team was stopped by police outside Derby’s training ground 24 hours before the Rams lost 2-0 at Elland Road on January 11.
Derby made a formal complaint soon after the fixture, but 11 teams joined together to write to the EFL last Friday after being angered by comments made by Bielsa during a 66-minute media briefing at Thorp Arch on Wednesday.
Speaking at that briefing, Bielsa confirmed that he had sent scouts to watch every Championship side train this season, but hit back at claims MARCELO BIELSA: Has sent scouts to watch every Championship opponent train.
that he was gaining an unfair advantage by doing so.
Norwich City, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers have so far confirmed that they put their names to the letter.
The Yorkshire Post understands that Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Nottingham Forest are three of the other teams involved in writing it.
Bristol City owner Steve Lansdown called last week for Leeds to be punished with a points deduction, but the letter to the EFL made no reference to potential sanctions.
A source said: “The letter doesn’t mention any punishment. It’s seeking full disclosure about what happened.”
The EFL and FA have made no comment about possible penalties facing Bielsa or Leeds and are still to decide if they will mount disciplinary action, although individuals involved in the case have played down the likelihood of a points deduction.
The EFL were asked by The Yorkshire Post to provide a full list of clubs who signed the letter sent on Friday, but said it was down to individual sides to comment on their involvement.
In a statement issued on Saturday, three hours before Leeds lost 2-1 at Stoke City, the organisation said: “The EFL has received a communication on behalf of a number of Championship clubs in regard to the current matter involving Leeds United.
“The request attributed to 11 clubs will be considered as part of the current investigation that has commenced.”
On Sunday, Norwich, who sit a point and a place below Bielsa’s league leaders in the Championship, became the first team to reveal publicly that they had signed the letter. Millwall and Blackburn followed suit yesterday morning.
A Blackburn spokesman said: “Following the comments made by Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa last week, Blackburn Rovers and a number of Championship clubs have written to the EFL asking for full disclosure.”