Southampton captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis exchanged words with Middlesbrough defender Luke Ayling during the Championship play-off semi-final second leg on Tuesday night.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Luke Ayling clashed on Tuesday night (Image: Warren Little/Getty Images)
Taylor Harwood-Bellis has escaped punishment for his alleged discriminatory remarks towards Luke Ayling as the Middlesbrough defender chose not to pursue the matter further. The Southampton captain was seen exchanging words with Ayling during the first half of the Championship play-off semi-final second leg, prompting referee Andy Madrid to stop play.
Ms Ayling told Ms Madley that Ms Harwood-Bellis had said discriminatory things to her. The referee then walked to the touchline to alert both managers and the fourth official, and a collision occurred between Tonda Eckert and Kim Helberg.
The match continued and Southampton won 2-1 after extra time with a goal from Shay Charles. Unless things change following the spying investigation into Middlesbrough, they will face Hull City in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on May 23.
Harwood-Bellis will be available to play against Hull after the Football Association confirmed it will not pursue the incident with Ayling. The FA confirmed the referee’s report and spoke with Middlesbrough to inform them of Ayling’s wishes.
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In the second half of the match, both players were seen having a friendly conversation, and it appeared that the altercation had been resolved.
After the game, both coaches were asked about the incident. “I don’t think this is my place to say this,” Helberg said. “Something happens on the pitch, but it’s not my role to explain it, it’s better for the people involved to explain it.
“I think (Eckert’s aggression) was in the heat of the moment and the emotion and emotion, which is what we love in football. I don’t know exactly what the situation was, but Luke, of course, is devastated by what we’re not going through.”
Luke Ayling has decided to take no further action (Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Eckert added: “I still don’t understand the situation, but I saw them talking right away after the game and obviously there was a lot of emotion, but they seemed okay. So I’ll have to check with him (Harwood-Bellis) to see what exactly happened.”
The news will come as a relief to Southampton, where Harwood-Bellis is a key player in Eckert’s side. The 24-year-old centre-back has scored seven goals and provided three assists in 48 appearances this season, forming a solid partnership with Nathan Wood while captain Jack Stevens is out injured.
However, although this problem has been resolved, the end of the “Spygate” story is still far from over. Middlesbrough are seeking sporting sanctions from an independent disciplinary panel investigating allegations that Saints staff recorded Boro’s training session two days before the 0-0 first leg.
Middlesbrough are due to return to training later this week, hoping the EFL can dislodge Southampton and send them to Wembley in a bid to return to the Premier League.
A photo of suspected spy William Salt was published in the Daily Mail, showing him standing on the pavement beside Boro’s training ground, holding a phone. It is also reported that the bank card was used at an adjacent golf club owned by club chairman Steve Gibson.
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