Southampton have been given an almighty slap on the wrist by the EFL for spying on three EFL clubs during the Championship season just gone.
The Saints have been kicked out of the playoffs, after admitting to their wrongdoings, with Middlesbrough reinstated to the playoff picture for the upcoming final at Wembley this weekend.
Several figures associated with the South Coast club have chimed in with their thoughts, with one-time St. Mary's striker, Charlie Austin, branding his ex-team a "disgrace."
Former Southampton boss Harry Redknapp has been more sympathetic, despite his tenure at the Saints, during the mid-noughties, going down as a short-lived failure.
Redknapp's controversial spell at the Saints
In a managerial career that saw him take charge of the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, and Queens Park Rangers, to name just a few clubs, the 79-year-old isn't well remembered for his stint in charge of Southampton.
The well-travelled manager was set up to be a failure from the get-go of his Saints journey, as he would join the club in controversial circumstances, as he walked away from Southampton's arch nemesis, Portsmouth, to defect over enemy lines.
This would prove to be the wrong move, as Redknapp would send Southampton down to the Championship under his dire 48-game spell, winning only 12 games in total.
Redknapp's record as Saints manager:
Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
48 | 12 | 21 | 15 |
Retreating back to Pompey, after lasting barely a year in the St. Mary's hot-seat, the 79-year-old must just view this part of his managerial career as a bad dream.
You would think, perhaps, that the now retired manager wouldn't display much empathy for his ex-side's Spygate fiasco, having been burnt badly by his Southampton ordeal.
But, when asked about his thoughts on the developing scandal, Redknapp didn't completely lay into this former employers.
Redknapp's reaction to Spygate
Taking charge of AFC Bournemouth during his lengthy managerial career, as well, Redknapp is a figure who is instantly recognisable to football fans located on the South Coast.
It's not a great shock, therefore, that he was chosen as a figure to comment on Southampton's playoff expulsion, with Redknapp stating that he feels the punishment is "very severe."
He said, when speaking to BBC Radio Solent: "I think it's very harsh, I didn't see that coming - I thought they would get a heavy fine.
"[What they have done] is so stupid it's beyond belief, what are you learning by someone filming a bit of training? What are you learning by watching them train for an hour? It was a ridiculous thing to do.
"They have made a big, big error and they have been severely punished, they really have.
"I don't know how it is going to pan out. We certainly haven't heard the last of it, it's a crazy situation. I thought they would get a massive fine but to be thrown out the play-off final is really very severe."
Acknowledging that it was a "ridiculous" thing to do, Redknapp's honest comments likely mirror what a lot of the Saints fanbase are feeling currently, as they will feel the penalty is harsh, but ultimately, their team doesn't have a leg to stand on, as their absurd spying tactics have been rightly exposed.
Southampton fans will hope their team can bounce back from this unprecedented situation, with plenty more to be uncovered, no doubt, as the scandal rumbles on.
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