Southampton cheated. They’ve been rightly punished. But what Spygate really tells us is that some cheating is allowed, while other types for some reason aren’t.

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This is one of the most shocking punishments in English football history. But is this the most shocking example of cheating? Not by a long shot. So why has this happened?

I won’t linger on one element of why because it’s so obvious. We all know if Southampton were a rich top-six club, this wouldn’t have happened.

Money talks, and it’s why Southampton’s punishment was expedited within 12 days, while Man City still await a result of their 115 charges for supposed financial breaches (three years later).

And even when rich clubs are punished, it’s often a wink-wink punishment that they can easily wriggle out of. Remember Chelsea’s many ‘transfer embargoes’ that had absolutely no impact?

So if you’re found to be cheating, will you be meaningfully punished? If you’re a rich top-six club, no. If you’re anyone else, watch out.

But........

© LBC