The New England Patriots have found themselves in strife after the NFL handed down a decision to fine them after their film crews were caught filming unauthorised field and side-line footage at a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns back on the 8th December 2019.

The penalties include a $1.1 million fine, no third-round pick and no filming of games for 2020. The senior officials of the club will also receive training of game policies and NFL league operations. The decisions were decided on Sunday28th June once the news had been released by ESPN.

The supervising producer for Kraft Sports and Entertainment, David Mondillo, was suspended by the NFL and also terminated by the Patriots. He claimed that he had no intention of providing footage to football operations, however, it was admitted by The Patriots that unauthorised filming was indeed carried out by their production crew.

It was revealed that they had permission by the Clevland Browns to film footage for a web series called “Do Your Job”. The fact that neither the Bengal Tigers nor the NFL was notified was explained as an “unintentional oversight” on the part of the Patriots.