Marcelo Bielsa's Spygate: Other cases of sporting espionage

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has given his table-topping team a licence to thrill this season - and could give James Bond a run for his money.

The 63-year-old Argentine addressed the "spy" saga in an extraordinary news conference on Wednesday, by saying he has sent a member of staff to watch every team they have played this season train.

In honour of Bielsa and his undercover operations, here are 007 other cases of espionage in sport...

What's bugging the All Blacks?

What: A sophisticated listening device was discovered in the All Blacks' team meeting room in a Sydney hotel ahead of the first Bledisloe Cup match between New Zealand and Australia in August 2016.

Whodunnit? After an investigation by police, All Blacks security guard Adrian Gard was charged with making up claims that he found the listening device.

Verdict: Gard was found not guilty of making up the claim and the magistrate was unable to rule out that someone else could have planted the bug. Gard was found guilty of a second charge relating to carrying out a security operation without a licence.

It's the pits - Ferrari's F1 furore

What: Confidential Ferrari information was leaked to McLaren ahead of the 2007 season.

Whodunnit? Then Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney passed information to his friend Mike Coughlan, then McLaren's chief designer. Ferrari said they only found out when Coughlan's wife tried to make copies of the documents at a local shop, whose owner telephoned them to reveal his suspicions.

Verdict: Stepney was sentenced in Italy to 20 months in prison after being found guilty of sabotage, industrial espionage and sporting fraud - he never served the sentence.

McLaren were initially cleared of any wrongdoing but, after a second hearing by governing body the FIA, were fined $100m and disqualified from the 2007 constructors' championship, which they otherwise would have won.

Cardiff not so pally with Palace

What: Cardiff alleged that their starting XI was leaked to Crystal Palace two days before the teams' Premier League match in April 2014, which Palace won 3-0.

Whodunnit? Cardiff claimed Palace's sporting director Iain Moody, who previously worked for the Welsh team, was behind the leak. Moody said the claims were "incredibly, extraordinarily untrue".

Verdict: Palace were fined by the Premier League.

Sly and secretive - the Rambo look

Rambo or Genoa's youth team coach?

What: In 2013, a Genoa coach was found hiding in bushes spying on a training session held by local rivals Sampdoria.

Whodunnit? Youth team coach Luca De Pra was believed to have watched Sampdoria train from under a tree while dressed in camouflage gear, without the knowledge of his own club.

Sampdoria said in a statement De Pra was hiding "like Rambo under a tree".

Verdict: De Pra was suspended by his club.

Patriot Games in the NFL

What: The New England Patriots recorded the New York Jets' defensive coaches' signals from an unauthorized location during a NFL match in September 2007.

Whodunnit? The New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick.

Verdict: The NFL fined Patriots Belichick $500,000 for his role in the incident, and fined the Patriots $250,000, and docked the team their original first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft which would have been the 31st pick.

A bad Korea move

What: A Swedish scout covertly watched the South Koreans prepare in Austria at a football World Cup training camp in 2018. In response, South Korea's coach made his players wear different numbered shirts into confuse opponents. "It's very difficult for westerners to distinguish between Asians," said Shin Tae-yong.

Whodunnit? Swedish scout Lars Jacobsson used a house near Korea's training base in Austria to watch training sessions using a high-performance telescope and video camera.

Verdict: Sweden manager Janne Andersson apologised for the incident, saying: "He heard about a practice session, he didn't understand that it was a closed session, he didn't understand and he watched from a distance."

From hairdryer to helicopter

What: Then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's helicopter was spotted flying over Manchester City's training ground before their derby match in 2009.

Whodunnit? After circling twice over the City players as they made their final preparations, the chopper landed at United's training centre to pick up Ferguson and take him to Newbury races.

Verdict: Fergie wasn't grounded and United beat City 4-3 in the game.