David Seaman has claimed that he doesn’t understand why Leeds United have been fined over the ‘spygate’ scandal.
The Yorkshire club were handed a £200,000 fine on Monday for the controversial incident that saw a member of Marcelo Bielsa’s staff caught watching a Derby County training session in January.
But former England number one Seaman, a Leeds fan himself, has claimed that the punishment makes no sense as he tears his hair out over the lack of laws which define the ruling.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “For Leeds to get fined over something that’s not illegal is just so irritating.
“I just don’t understand how they can fine Leeds for something that wasn’t illegal.”
"I don't understand how they can fine Leeds for something that wasn't illegal!"
"You see players conning the referee and not getting punished!"#LUFC fan @TheDavidSeaman says it was wrong to fine Leeds over Spygate.
Agree? ? pic.twitter.com/BbtaoJVKl4
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 20, 2019
OPINION
You have to say that Seaman makes a valid point. Whether you support Leeds or not, it’s fairly illogical that the club should be punished for something that isn’t technically against the rules. Sure, it’s a moral grey area, but fining the club for it – and especially handling the entire saga in such a way that could justifiably be deemed to have affected the squad with the worry of points deductions and the like – sets an alarming precedent for these kind of things. A more savvy solution would have been a warning and a commitment to a change in the rules of the league, but instead, by coming down hard on the club, a new standard has been set that could be used as a stick to beat the governing body with in the future. Ultimately, the EFL have made a rod for it’s own back, and have come out of this whole thing looking antiquated and out of touch.