'We want to talk about importance of privacy...': Reynolds and McElhenney's dig at Southampton over ‘spygate’ scandal

Southampton continues to face ongoing taunts following its involvement in the “Spygate” soccer scandal, with the latest jibes coming directly from Wrexham’s famous co-owners ahead of their second-tier Championship clash on Saturday.

In a promotional video released before the match, Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney delivered sharp references to the saga from last season, which resulted in Southampton being expelled from the promotion playoffs for unauthorized filming of opponents’ practice sessions.

“Today, for no particular reason, we want to talk about the importance of privacy,” Reynolds says after emerging from behind a tree, “specifically how to prevent spies from seeing what you’re doing.”

“Because there’s some things,” Mac continues, “that you just don’t want any other people to see.”

The pair noted that their message was intended not only for Wrexham supporters, but also for those of Oxford, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, and audiences everywhere. The video—produced as a promotion for Wrexham’s front-of-kit sponsor, Firefox—directly referenced the three clubs Southampton admitted to spying on during the previous campaign.

The tree setting served as a specific nod to a Southampton intern who was caught filming a Middlesbrough training session from behind a tree. That incident triggered a wider investigation that uncovered a systematic effort by Southampton to observe rivals.

Consequently, Southampton was removed from the playoffs—stripping the club of an opportunity to secure promotion to the lucrative Premier League—and handed a four-point deduction for the current season. Southampton manager Tonda Eckert was subsequently charged by the Football Association with bringing the game into disrepute, with an arbitration panel concluding that the operation was “a contrived and determined plan from top down to gain a competitive advantage.”

Rival teams and supporters have repeatedly highlighted the controversy since the new season began.

During the offseason, Wrexham poked fun at the matchup upon learning it would face Southampton right before the international break. Wrexham shared match details on social media with the caption: “Taking us into the international break,” accompanied by a spy emoji and a calendar reminder to “Check Training Ground” for unauthoriSed visitors in the days leading up to the fixture.

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In Southampton's season opener at Watford, home supporters targeted Eckert’s side throughout the match. Watford's mascot also joined in, standing behind a goalpost before kickoff while making a binocular gesture toward the pitch.

More recently, Bristol City fans opened their Championship fixture against Southampton by singing a song that referred to Southampton as cheats in the opening seconds of their Championship game.

Southampton supporters responded during the match, with chants breaking out from the away end: “We spy when we want, we spy when we want, we are Southampton, we spy when we want.”

Despite the off-field scrutiny and an opening-day loss to Watford, Southampton has remained competitive on the pitch. Unbeaten in its last six league matches with four wins and two draws, the club has climbed to ninth place in the Championship standings as it pursues a return to the Premier League. (AP)