Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have poked fun at upcoming opponents Southampton, using a playful social media video to reference last season’s ‘Spygate’ controversy.
Ahead of Saints’ visit to the Racecourse Ground for Saturday’s Championship fixture, the Hollywood pair seized their chance to mock the drama surrounding their rivals.
Southampton were expelled from the play-off final and docked four points when an intern was caught watching semi-final opponents Middlesbrough during a training session. Similar spying incidents were also discovered to have occurred at Oxford and Ipswich earlier in the season.
In a video released on Wrexham’s X account, Reynolds appears from behind a tree, mimicking photographs that were published of the Southampton spy.
Promoting shirt sponsor Firefox, the Deadpool actor opens the clip by saying: “Today, for no particular reason, we want to talk about the importance of privacy.”
McElhenney, creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, then adds: “Specifically, how to prevent spies from seeing what you’re doing.”
Reflecting on internet safety, Reynolds jokes about searching online for ‘how to run a football club’. The co-owners then emphasize that privacy is “important to people everywhere”, pointedly bringing up Middlesbrough, Oxford and Ipswich.
Reynolds wraps up the skit by saying: “Refreshing, huh? An organisation that actually respects your privacy.” The short video finishes with both owners looking at a smartphone screen, which allegedly shows a Southampton pickleball team in practice.
Heading into the match, Wrexham sit 19th in the standings after seven fixtures, while Southampton are ninth on 10 points having overcome their penalty deduction.
Wrexham also had a dig at Southampton during pre-season. Upon discovering they would be playing Southampton in the last match before a hiatus for international matches, Wrexham posted details of the match 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 ahead of the game.
Southampton’s first game of the season was at Watford, whose fans baited Tonda Eckert’s team. Even Watford’s mascot got involved, standing behind one of the goalposts ahead of the game and poking its head out with a binocular gesture.
