OPINION
There’s something rotten going on in football at the moment.
Ahead of the Championship game between Leeds and Derby on Friday night, Marcelo Bielsa admitted that he had sent an employee to observe Derby training on Thursday.
This person was spotted acting suspiciously and was quizzed by police, who decided no offence had been committed.
That night, a report appeared in the Daily Mirror that claimed the Leeds employee had been caught with “pliers and binoculars”.
This tabloid story fuelled some, frankly, crazy rants from pundits who claimed that Leeds should be punished for actions that had amounted to cheating.
Derby manager Frank Lampard, who admitted his side were well beaten, repeated the claim about pliers after the game, saying “He was on hands and knees with pliers in hand, so the intention was there.”
But where has this come from?
Not from the police, who were the only people who had contact with the Leeds employee.
In response to questions from a Leeds fan on Wednesday, the Derby police “categorically” said they had disclosed no information about the person they had stopped – “to Derby County, Leeds United or anyone other than those within the police force”.
They also repeated that no offence had been committed. This was made very clear in the tweets below.
If all checks were above board then that says to me he had no pliers……the serious question of who told Derby his name has still to be answered. If everything was above board and you don't disclose info,then how did Derby know he was a Leeds employee…..
— Aaron Taylor (@AzzaLufc) January 16, 2019
Yes we can confirm. We can categorically state that we did NOT disclose police-held information to Derby County, Leeds United or anyone other than those within the police force who needed to know. The matter is in the hands of both clubs and the EFL.
— Derbyshire Police (@DerbysPolice) January 16, 2019
Hi Ryan,
He was found not to be committing a crime so no further action was necessary. He was simply & politely asked to move on.
He was indeed stood on public land.
— Derbyshire Police (@DerbysPolice) January 16, 2019
This is serious stuff. The lies that are being spread about Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds need to stop.
Bielsa has admitted to sending someone to stand on public ground and watch a training session.
Saying that he intended to break through the fence with pliers is taking the allegation to a whole new level.
Where has Frank Lampard got this information from? Where did the Mirror get its story from?
Because it’s not from the police, who have stated that on record.
And if Lampard is making allegations up or basing them on tabloid stories, then what he’s doing is arguably worse than anything Bielsa has done.
The slurs have to stop. And if necessary Leeds have to stand up and threaten anyone who makes allegations that aren’t true.
The hypocrisy over such a trivial matter is staggering.