New England Patriots kick off NFL season as cheating clamour grows

Few champions have returned to the field under this thick a cloud. But as the accusations and rumours and innuendo pile up, New England Patriots players insist they have shut out the noise as they begin the defence of their Super Bowl title tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After the protracted ‘Deflategate’ saga dogged their summer, albeit with a satisfactory conclusion in the lifting of Tom Brady’s ban, the week has been full of more stories of rule-breaking, including an ESPN investigation which detailed a range of ‘cheating’ accusations, extending back to the infamous Spygate episode of 2007, when the Patriots were accused of videotaping New York Jets’ defensive coaches’ signals.

ESPN allege the Patriots spied on opposing teams much more often than originally revealed by the NFL. Amid a host of other claims, ESPN sources alleged that Patriots staff rummaged through team hotels for playbooks and sneaked into opposing locker rooms during pregame warm-ups.