February 19 – English second tier front-runners Leeds United have been fined £200,000 by the English Football League and given a formal reprimand over the so-called ‘spygate’ affair in January.
A member of Leeds’ staff was found acting suspiciously outside Derby’s training ground before the high-profile Championship fixture on 10 January.
Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa admitted sending one of his coaching staff to spy on Derby County but said that was nothing new in terms of watching opponents train.
The EFL found Leeds breached rules over treating teams with “good faith” and are now bringing in a rule to prohibit clubs from seeing the opposition in training in the 72 hours preceding a game unless specifically invited to do so.
The EFL said in a statement that Leeds’ conduct “fell significantly short of the standards expected” and it “must not be repeated”.
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