(Credit: Imago, Getty)

Evan Shaw

Sun 31 May 2026 11:31, UK

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The EFL must be ready to show “strong leadership” to prevent further legal action surrounding the spygate saga that has rocked the Championship of late.

That is according to former Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the governing body have to find ways to “resolve disputes internally,” rather than allowing them to go to court.

This comes after the news that both Millwall and Wrexham are considering taking legal action against Southampton, with both clubs feeling that they have grounds to gain compensation.

The FA are currently in the middle of an investigation into the matter, while Saints were kicked out of the Championship play-offs, before Hull City eventually emerged victorious in the Wembley final.

The story has dominated talk surrounding the play-offs, but it could still be far from over with both Millwall and Wrexham lining up new claims.

EFL told to create new ‘mechanisms’ for off-field issues

Aston Villa’s former chief Wyness – who now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that legal action should be the “last resort” for clubs in these kinds of situations, and feels that the route has been taken too quickly on this occasion.

Millwall and Wrexham are the latest sides that are trying to seek compensation for the incident, while Hull also threatened legal action ahead of their play-off final against Middlesbrough.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness criticised the way that clubs have gone down the legal route almost immediately in this instance.

“I wish clubs would stop thinking that they can go to a legal remedy quickly, because it could end up being a waste of money,” he said.

“Football should find mechanisms to resolve disputes internally, and there’s got to be strong leadership from the EFL that create forums to do that rather than letting them go to court. So I’m really against any legal action.

“I would urge any club not to take those legal actions and realise that most of the things have been decided on the pitch. The Spygate infringement, a lot was made of it because it was the playoff final. Did Southampton really get the sporting advantage that was claimed?

🚨 Southampton players want Tonda Eckert to stay on as manager despite the Spygate saga costing them Premier League football #saintsfc @justinallen1976 pic.twitter.com/aBkbCl25mJ

— SaintsExtra (@SaintsExtra) May 29, 2026

“Legal action should be the very last resort, not the first resort. And that’s what I’m urging clubs right now.”

PFA to come to the defence of Southampton stars

Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider earlier this week that the PFA could come to the aid of Southampton’s players, who were unaware that their staff had been spying on opponents.

The former recruitment man suggested that several members of the Saints’ squad may have missed out on bonuses as a result of the team being kicked out of the play-offs, given that they would have been favourites to beat Hull in the final.

Brown outlined that he expects the PFA to step in and come to the defence of the players, who did everything they could to get the club a shot at securing promotion back to the Premier League.

He added that intricacies within some contracts could have seen some stars lose out on a significant amount of money, and the responsibility falls on the PFA to ensure that they are represented fairly.