Stay Classy Southampton…

C

Cat’s Lives

Well-known member
Part of their statement today:

‘We also note that the club was judged against the very highest standards of integrity and good faith. That is entirely proper. What is harder to accept is that similar scrutiny does not appear to have been applied to the composition of the disciplinary panel itself, given the apparent historic and indirect connections of two panel members to Middlesbrough. While those connections do not by themselves prove bias, they plainly raise legitimate questions about consistency, perception and the standards of independence expected in proceedings of this magnitude.’
 
Cat’s Lives said:
Part of their statement today:

‘We also note that the club was judged against the very highest standards of integrity and good faith. That is entirely proper. What is harder to accept is that similar scrutiny does not appear to have been applied to the composition of the disciplinary panel itself, given the apparent historic and indirect connections of two panel members to Middlesbrough. While those connections do not by themselves prove bias, they plainly raise legitimate questions about consistency, perception and the standards of independence expected in proceedings of this magnitude.’
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Sheer ARROGANCE. They are showing the EFL equivalent of contempt of court. They should now be punished further because of this.
 
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I’m honestly shocked at reading this. They’ve clearly learned nothing and are taking no professional advice.

Amateur and small.

‘The club is also concerned by the weight placed on assertions that junior staff were pressurised into involvement, when some of the most serious allegations appear not to have been supported by direct evidence. That said, junior employees should never have been placed in a position where they felt under pressure, and the club accepts responsibility for that failure of leadership and oversight.

This case has ultimately been decided on the basis that breach and attempted breach were enough, regardless of whether any sporting benefit was actually obtained. In fact, at no stage was there any finding that the club actually obtained any sporting advantage as a result of the conduct in question.

That is a severe interpretation, but one the disciplinary authorities were entitled to adopt under the rules as written.’
 
Honestly you compare Bielsa, caught and owned up straight away, given a full presentation of what he learnt and why, to all journalists that wanted to attend, to this absolute dumpster fire that is Southampton FC

This sounds like it was written by one of their forum diehards, but I’ve checked it three times and it’s their official statement. Absolutely embarrassing and if my club ever acted like this, I would stop supporting them it’s that pathetic
 
Cat’s Lives said:
I’m honestly shocked at reading this. They’ve clearly learned nothing and are taking no professional advice.

Amateur and small.

‘The club is also concerned by the weight placed on assertions that junior staff were pressurised into involvement, when some of the most serious allegations appear not to have been supported by direct evidence. That said, junior employees should never have been placed in a position where they felt under pressure, and the club accepts responsibility for that failure of leadership and oversight.

This case has ultimately been decided on the basis that breach and attempted breach were enough, regardless of whether any sporting benefit was actually obtained. In fact, at no stage was there any finding that the club actually obtained any sporting advantage as a result of the conduct in question.

That is a severe interpretation, but one the disciplinary authorities were entitled to adopt under the rules as written.’
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Have they not read the damn rule? It doesn’t bloody well say a sporting advantage has to actually be gained!!! FFS idiots.

(And if we must play this pathetic game then I’ll point out that they won the tie 2-1 on aggregate so if gaining a sporting advantage was the rule who is to say that winning the tie on aggregate isn’t the sporting advantage gained? Particularly given that we we beat them 5-1 on aggregate over the 2 games during the season!! They them answer and acknowledge the shiitness and pointlessness of their previous paragraph in the last paragraphby reference to the rules as written I.e. ‘shall not observe or attempt to observe to try to gain an advantage’ …… 🤷🏻‍♂️. Talk about bleating on!!)

In essence: Don’t cheat and / or FCK OFF!
 
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Cat’s Lives said:
'In fact, at no stage was there any finding that the club actually obtained any sporting advantage as a result of the conduct in question.’
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You know, apart from several instances at the Independent Disciplinary Commission stage:

"We have concluded that there was, on the part of the Respondent, a contrived and determined plan from the top down to gain a competitive advantage in competitions of real significance by deliberate attendance at opposition training grounds for the purpose of obtaining tactical and selection information"

"The Commission is not persuaded that this is an exceptional case in which there is evidence that no use was made of the material and therefore no sporting advantage"

"It is inherent in having information which your opponent would wish to keep private that you have a sporting advantage"

Oh, and at the League Arbitration Panel stage too:

"It is clear that Southampton intended to obtain a sporting advantage over their league rivals by cheating"

"Therefore, I do not accept the proposition that there was no evidence that Southampton gained a sporting advantage as a result of its observation of Middlesbrough"

"For those reasons, I do not accept the submission made by the Club that the Commission erred in the manner in which they dealt with sporting advantage"

So, you know, apart from both stages of the disciplinary process, there was no such finding at any stage. Makes perfect sense, no?
 
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