I was so against the World Cup being extended to 48 teams but then you see Curacao score against Germany and then Cape Verde and Scotland both picking up points in the group stages and you half change your mind on it
"We have a massive chance to make Middlesbrough a Premier League club again. Every time I walk out as captain, I have to pinch myself. I'm a lad from Berwick Hills, this is everything I dreamed of. My end goal for this season is getting Middlesbrough promoted. We don't know the team, but if I do get to lead the team out as captain at Wembley, it's something I'd be immensely proud of." - Dael Fry 🥹❤️
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🚨 Middlesbrough want Southampton kicked out of Championship play-off final over ‘Spygate’ scandal & threaten legal action if this does not happen
👇 More on bombshell escalation...
https://t.co/Bu04CCOvod
🚨💣🧵
Some staggering details taken from @TeleFootball’s piece on Southampton’s alleged Middlesbrough spying mission…
• The ‘spy’ had professional surveillance equipment, complete with a microphone to record voices and technology to livestream the footage back to someone watching remotely. It is claimed the man filming the session had professional filming equipment, complete with a microphone powerful enough to pick up the voice of manager Kim Hellberg and his coaching staff as they issued training instructions.
• Middlesbrough have since been told by whistleblowers that this is not the first time a member of Southampton’s analyst team has been sent to record opposition training sessions this season.
• Middlesbrough have informed the English Football League that they view this as a clear and obvious case of cheating and are seeking the *harshest possible punishment*. A wide range of action is possible when dealing with cases such as these, including points deductions, fines and *potential expulsion from the play-offs*.
• With that in mind, the club feel they are already at a big disadvantage heading into the two-legged tie and *they believe their opponents are already aware of their starting XI for the first leg*. If they change it, they would not be picking the manager’s first-choice side.
• The deadline for those observations to be returned to the EFL was set at 1pm on Friday but *Southampton are accused of missing it.* Middlesbrough suspect their Championship rivals are playing for time and hope to avoid admitting any wrongdoing until after the game on Saturday.
• Middlesbrough privately believe a fine would not be much of a deterrent in this case given the benefits of gaining an unfair advantage ahead of a game of this magnitude.
• They will push for the harshest possible sanction with owner *Steve Gibson probably set to raise the matter directly with his Southampton counterparts in the Riverside boardroom on Saturday*.
#Boro | #UTB | #SaintsFC