Spygate finally reached its conclusion – as far as the EFL was concerned – when they fined Leeds £200,000.
However, according to Front Row Legal’s Richard Cramer, the 11 other Championship clubs that sent a letter of complaint to the EFL could take things further.
Talking on West Yorkshire Sport Daily (BBC, Weds, 6pm), Cramer said that the clubs “were looking at a civil action.
“What we don’t know is whether that’s sufficient to get rid of all of this. The EFL won’t take any more action. I don’t say that’s the end of it. It’s feasible for the 11 clubs to bring a separate civil action.”
Cramer went on to say that he thought the punishment from the EFL was harsh.
“They’ve not been found guilty of breaching any law, they’ve found a nebulous concept which basically says clubs have to act in good faith. But it’s such a difficult definition as clubs may be in breach of this every match day and get away with it.
“The harshness for me is that there’s no particular law that’s been broken, the club has been heavily fined and now there’s going to be a new rule that bans clubs from spying on the opposition 72 hours before. A lot of people would say that Leeds have been very unlucky and very harshly treated.
“I don’t understand where that figure comes from, most people would say give them a warning, suspend the fine. To take £200,000 out of the club seems very harsh, is it the football league awarding themselves a nice drink?”
OPINION
We can’t see this happening and we think the £200,000 fine is the end of it. And rightly so. As Cramer himself says, the punishment seems out of kilter with the crime, although he did go on to say later in the show that an independent QC had ratified the decision, along with Leeds. The negotiated settlement might not sit well with all of the 11 EFL clubs, with at least one asking for a points deduction, but we can’t see them taking things any further. Leeds can now concentrate on what’s important – getting back to winning ways and getting promoted to the Premier League. It’s been an extraordinary season under Marcelo Bielsa, with spygate and an incredible list of injuries all conspiring to thwart Leeds in their bid to get back to the top-flight for their centenary year. It’s been announced that they’re going to be the subject of a Netflix-style documentary chronicling their efforts and if it has a happy ending it could be one of the best football documentaries ever made.