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Spygate: Southampton owner Dragan Solak will not sack head coach Tonda Eckert

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In a wide-ranging interview, Solak insisted he had been unaware of the spying plot, revealing he only found out about it when the news broke last month on social media.

“I actually learned from X. I sent a message: ‘What the hell is this?’

“Even people I talked to at the highest level of the club didn’t have a clue what was going on. They really thought it was a joke.”

Describing the punishment Southampton received as “ridiculous”, Solak tried to downplay the seriousness of the club’s cheating.

“Yes, we tried to obtain an information that was not legally allowed,” he said. “OK, what you do with this information and how you use it on the pitch, is a different thing. And what is the direct influence of this information on the pitch?

“On the other side, we can see on almost every game, players diving, trying to basically get a penalty or get a red card. That is not fair. And it’s very simple to call this cheating because they know what they’re doing, it’s much, much more direct influence on the game and the result than whatever we did.

“I’m not saying that what we did is right. I agree with the league that they want to stop it once for all. I just think that they are not treating every offence equally.”

Asked how he felt about the club staff, other than Eckert, who were aware of the spying, Solak said, “This whole thing was happening within the environment of our analysts.

“I think we have a couple of guys that are foreign analysts, so for them you could say probably that they didn’t have a clue that this was against the rules.

“And then we have probably five or six British analysts. How come they either didn’t know or they didn’t tell? I don’t know. But this is something that will be additional soul-searching for us… I am definitely very focused that we come to the understanding of this because this is the only way it will never happen again.”

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LIV Golf: Cameron Smith expecting season-ending competition to go ahead as Bryson DeChambeau leads player meeting | Golf News

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Cameron Smith says he is expecting LIV Golf’s season-ending Team Championship to go ahead as Bryson DeChambeau led a player meeting to discuss the future of the league.

Uncertainty over LIV’s final tournament of the season, which takes place on August 27-30 in Michigan, has lingered, major winner Martin Kaymer previously suggesting that he did not think the event would occur, giving it just a five per cent chance of happening.

The creation of LIV Golf sent shockwaves through the golfing world following its inception in 2021, where it was positioned as a rival to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

But now, the future of the breakaway golf league beyond the end of this season also remains in doubt after the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund confirmed in April it is ending its funding for the series. LIV is now bidding to seek alternative investment.

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Sky Sports reporter Jamie Weir explains what is next for LIV golfers after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) confirmed it will end its funding at the end of the 2026 season

While there is so much up in the air, Smith remained optimistic that the season would draw to its scheduled conclusion in Michigan.

“We have been told to prepare as though it’s going ahead. So we are expecting it to happen,” he said.

“I’m really unsure, but we had a great year there last year in Detroit, and we’re hoping we get back there.

“It is a great golf course, a great venue, and the crowds really turned up as well. I would be disappointed if it wasn’t.”

Asked whether he has made preparations to join another Tour, Smith said he has not started to make those movements and is instead focused on “keeping the team alive”.

“I am a positive guy, so I’ve made no effort to go seek anything else,” he said.

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Kaveh Solhekol explains why Saudi Arabian funding will be cut from LIV Golf and where this leaves the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm

“I don’t really understand what is going to happen. I think it’s all up in the air. I know that the LIV team is working hard to get us to play next year and working hard for us. They do a lot of hard work behind the scenes.

“I want it to work to be honest. It is great fun out here. The team that we’ve got, I feel like we make each other better, better people and better golfers as well.

“I would hate to see it go away.”

Smith did concede that there was a possibility that he could be left with little option but to return to the PGA Tour.

“I mean, if it was the only option, I think that’s where everyone would want to be for sure, 100 per cent,” he added.

“It would go back to old times.”

DeChambeau leads player meeting on LIV Golf’s future

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Bryson DeChambeau was given a two-shot penalty after inadvertently improving his lie in thick rough on the fifth hole at The Open

Following Smith’s comments, the LIV Golf players had a meeting which was reportedly led by DeChambeau as they discussed the future of the league.

According to Richard Bland, DeChambeau said the next couple of weeks will be when the full picture of the situation comes to light.

However, he is “positive” with what they are hearing is going on.

“Bryson just ran through what he knows, and obviously, we’re trying to do it as a group, but we’re individuals as well, so I think the next two to three weeks is going to be where it’s at,” Bland told The Athletic.

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Speaking on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley says that Bryson DeChambeau must change if he wants to return to the PGA Tour, adding that the tour ‘hasn’t missed him’

“We’re in this together; we’re fully backing Scott (O’Neil). I think probably in the next two to three weeks we’ll have a bigger picture.

“We’re just in that kind of stage at the minute that we’re positive with what’s going on, but we just need everything to be fully signed off so you can go forward.”

And on whether the Team Championship will take place, Bland added: “I don’t know. We have just got to wait and see on that.”

Lee Westwood was less forthcoming when asked about his insight into the player meeting and said: “No, I’m not talking about it. Blandy shouldn’t be either.”

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Saints playoff hopes take big blow after poor defeat to Hull FC

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Highlights of St Helens against Hull FC in the Betfred Super League.

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Sutherland with DOUBLE drop against Welsh Fire

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Annabel Sutherland dropped two catches that could have proved costly for her side as Sunrisers Leeds looked to topple Welsh Fire to stay in the The Hundred.

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