Solskjaer avoids Cardiff leak row

Cardiff City manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer refused to discuss reports his team line-up had been leaked before their defeat to Crystal Palace.

Speculation was rife on Friday that Solskjaer’s plans had been leaked to the opposition prior to their 3-0 reverse on Saturday.

Reports suggested Cardiff owner Vincent Tan had written to Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore calling for an investigation, with Palace sporting director Iain Moody, formerly of Cardiff, allegedly accused of obtaining information by underhand means.

Moody described the allegations as “incredibly, extraordinarily untrue” while Solskjaer looked to avoid questions on the subject from reporters on Friday – preferring instead to focus on Saturday’s clash with Southampton.

Asked about the reports, Solskjaer said: “I just pass you onto chairman Mehmet (Dalman) about those things.

“I’m not talking about Crystal Palace. Southampton is my job.”

Moody – controversially replaced at Cardiff by unknown 23-year-old Alisher Apsalyamov – said he sought to get as much information as possible on Palace’s opposition but insisted his work crossed no boundaries.

“That is untrue, completely untrue. Absolutely not – not under any circumstances,” he told The Sun.

“That’s the whole point of what we do as scouts. To a certain extent you can guess to within one or two players what the team is going to be – everyone can.

“If that information was available, or obtained, would it really have a dramatic effect on a game? No. Winning or losing games in the Premier League is about much more than that.”