Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have taken a light-hearted swipe at Southampton ahead of Saturday’s Championship meeting between the two clubs at the Racecourse Ground, using a social media post to reference the Spygate affair that overshadowed last season’s play-offs.
The dig came in a 59-second video published on Wrexham’s X account, nominally promoting the club’s shirt sponsor Firefox. Reynolds, the Deadpool star, opens the clip by emerging from behind a tree and saying: “Today, for no particular reason, we want to talk about the importance of privacy.” McElhenney, the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator, adds: “Specifically, how to prevent spies from seeing what you’re doing.” Reynolds then jokes about searching for “how to run a football club”, and the pair describe privacy as “important to people everywhere” while naming Middlesbrough, Oxford and Ipswich. Reynolds closes by saying: “Refreshing, huh? An organisation that actually respects your privacy.” The clip ends with the two men looking at a mobile phone, purportedly showing a Southampton pickleball team in practice.
The video references the sanctions imposed on Southampton, who were kicked out of the play-off final and docked four points after an intern was found observing semi-final opponents Middlesbrough in training. Similar incidents were later found to have taken place at Oxford United and Ipswich Town earlier in the campaign.
It is not the first time Wrexham have aimed a gentle jab at the Saints. When announcing their league fixtures for the current campaign in June, the club listed “check training ground” on their September schedule, with an asterisk clarifying “for unauthorised visitors” on 17 September, two days before their contest with Southampton.
On the pitch, Wrexham sit 19th in the table after seven games, while Southampton are ninth on 10 points, three more than the north Wales outfit. Tonda Eckert’s side won 5-1 on their most recent visit to the Racecourse Ground in April, a result that saw them overtake Wrexham and go on to clinch a play-off spot. Southampton won both of the 2025-26 Championship fixtures between the clubs, by an aggregate scoreline of 7-2.
Wrexham kept in contact with the English Football League following the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season amid the uncertainty around Spygate, but manager Phil Parkinson said his side’s focus is now on delivering a positive display against Southampton after their 6-0 loss to West Ham United last time out. “We’re the team which obviously were affected because we were seventh, but we accepted the EFL decision on that,” Parkinson said. “Southampton got punished for it and they’ve had to accept their punishment and move on. That’s all I can say on it really, it’s gone. We’re concentrating on what we’ve got to do and likewise they’re the same.”