Charlie Austin finally spills the truth on infamous 2016 ‘standoff’ with Southampton teammate

Add as preferred source on Google

Charlie Austin is the definition of an EFL icon.

After excelling at Swindon Town in the lower leagues, Burnley and then Queens Park Rangers took a chance on him and he established himself as one of the Championship’s sharpshooters.

Austin played a role in QPR’s promotion to the Premier League before being signed by Southampton, where he struggled to hit the same heights.

His time on the south coast coincided with something of a golden age for the Saints as they got into the habit of buying for cheap and selling for profit.

Dusan Tadic was one of those brilliant finds, but he and Austin had a famous altercation back in 2016.

• READ MORE: Sol Campbell once walked out on Notts County 29 days into a five-year contract

Charlie Austin addresses the famous Dusan Tadic incident

Southampton’s heyday saw them competing in the Europa League. By this point, Austin was more of a bit-part player whereas Tadic was the talisman.

During a Europa League clash against Sparta Prague, the two teammates became involved in a heated discussion over who would take the penalty.

Virgil van Dijk was forced to separate the pair, and Austin has now spilled the story of what happened.

“I’d never played in the Europa League before and I thought ‘I’m taking penalties’,” he told the Under the Cosh podcast. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t even a penalty.

“He [Tadic] always took the penalties before I arrived but I wanted to take it. I put the ball down and he came to try and take the ball and he said ‘I take the penalties’.

“I put the ball down and he was having none of it but Verge [Van Dijk] was the captain and he came and just pushed him away. I scored the penalty and then they came over and celebrated at the end.

“We were having a full Mexican standoff like 10 minutes into the Europa League. Luckily I scored.”

Who does Charlie Austin play for now?

At the age of 36, Austin is still playing football, but back where his roots began, in non-league.

You can find the forward playing for Basingstoke Town in the Southern League Premier Division South, where he has been since August 2025.

He scored on his debut against Wimborne Town in a 2-0 win. Away from the pitch, Austin has also been doing some more media work and has been spotted on Sky Sports recently.