EFL warns clubs over social media jibes after Wrexham and Southampton banter

The English Football League (EFL), which runs the second and third tiers of English football, has warned its clubs about social media posts that could target rivals over disciplinary matters. The warning comes after a run of playful clashes, several of them involving Wrexham.

In a letter to club chairs and executives, the EFL advised clubs to avoid posts that could damage their reputation, according to the BBC. The league did not single out any club in the letter.

The trouble began with a video. In September, Wrexham posted a skit that made fun of Southampton over Spygate, a nickname for a spying row between the two clubs. The video featured Wrexham's owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. It also nominally promoted the club's shirt sponsor, Firefox.

Wrexham were not the only club to join in. Birmingham City posted a Spygate-themed graphic before their September game against Wrexham. It showed both clubs' badges cut into grass hedges, seen through binoculars.

Southampton kept the exchange going on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Under Wrexham's team news for a game against Sheffield United, they wrote: "hope you've double checked this one lads." The jab was about the team sheet, and it stung more because of a recent fine. The EFL had fined Wrexham for fielding two ineligible players, meaning two players who were not allowed to play in that match.

On the pitch, the rivalry has its own scoreboard. Wrexham beat Southampton 2-1 in a Championship match at the Racecourse Ground, the top tier of the EFL's three divisions below the Premier League.

For clubs, the message is simple. Banter sells shirts and fills timelines, but a joke can land badly when a club's own record is in the spotlight. The league's letter asks clubs to think about how a post will look before they hit publish.