A resolution to the Leeds United spy scandal is “imminent” a week after the EFL announced their investigation had yet to be completed, according to the Times.
The newspaper claim in an update on ‘Spygate’ a second major development in that the EFL and FA “are holding talks about whether to introduce a new law to specifically prohibit spying on opponents” as a result of the storm.
The Times report the governing bodies are currently relying on the charter signed by all Football League clubs, in which they pledge to treat each other with respect.
OPINION
The more time goes on, the less it appears the EFL and FA can actually do to Leeds. Surely, a fine, and not an especially heavy one, is the likely punishment when the final paperwork is shuffled on this issue. Ultimately, the hands of the governing bodies are tied as espionage is not an issue covered in its rule books. That may now change, but it is too late to throw the book at the Championship leaders and their manager Marcelo Bielsa, who claimed during a fascinating PowerPoint presentation to the media last month that he has spied on all of his team’s opponents this season. The unorthodox manager might even have been exaggerating the extent of the espionage – the Yorkshire Evening Post has claimed Leeds have actually discovered his staff only spied on around half of the Championship sides before matches – but his honesty and integrity after being caught out deserves better than the governing bodies taking an age to conduct their investigations.