Derby County attacker Mason Bennett has replied on Twitter with a laughing emoji to the announcement of Leeds United picking up the FIFA Fair Play award.

The Whites were acknowledged with the award for sportingly allowing Aston Villa to equalise after Leeds scored while a Villa player was down injured.

(Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport/CameraSport via Getty Images).

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa seemingly instructed it and received praise.

The Argentine, however, wasn’t so sporting a few months prior to that as he ordered the spying on Derby County’s training back in January.

Derby player Mason Bennett, therefore, saw the funny side to the award.

How Spygate helped reunite the Derby-Leeds rivalry:

The spygate scandal dominated the headlines back in January. A Leeds scout was caught watching the Rams’ training session prior to Derby’s clash at Elland Road.

Then Rams manager Frank Lampard was incensed and claimed Bielsa was acting unprofessionally. To make matters worse, Leeds comfortably beat Derby 2-0.

Leeds were fined a reported £200,000 fee for the incident. The EFL saw it as a breach of good faith, while fellow Championship clubs reportedly demanded action. A new law has since been introduced. Teams are now barred from viewing their opponent’s training session within 72 hours of the game.

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images).

Derby ultimately got their revenge on Bielsa’s side. The Rams came from behind to win 4-2 at Elland Road in the playoff semi-final second leg, advancing to the playoff final.

Bennett started that evening for Derby and won a penalty for his side. Being a Rams academy graduate, he had extra reason to enjoy the victory in Yorkshire.

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