Southampton thrown out of the Play off final

Southampton could end up suing the EFL for hundreds of potential millions they could miss out on.

possible penalty of over 100 million. A tad harsh Id say.

Needs VAR this one.

I wonder who approved this course of action? Was it the head coach, the "Director of football" or some low level member of coaching staff? It;s a very stupid and expensive mistake, whoever made the decision.

does the penalty fit the crime ?

Considering the football is so bad it hilarious ,go see how many times they pass the ball back the way ffs

Is it possible he just did it by himself off his own back , maybe southampton tried to use this as an excuse .

Spot on TTT, a huge penalty. Oh dear, what a total ****-up by Southampton.

seems harsh at first look, but they can't let a Club found to have been "cheating" get potential promotion. Even if the spying was like something out of an Inspector Clouseau movie. They made the decision to do something against the rules, even though the risk to reward balance must have seemed way too high to be worth trying.

Cheating should be punished, they have admitted the charges, apparently

Taking a hard line against the saints to make sure nobody else does it; the supporters who were laughing at the Boro fans and pretending to use the binoculars to wind the Boro fans up won't be laughing now

Did they hire the guy that does youtube pranks dressed as a bush

punished yes, but not to the tune of over 100  million. Car drivers commit a worse crime doing 35 in a 30.

Its ironic they admitted spying before 3 games and they didnt win any of them

What did they think was the value of cheating,... Promotion and £100 million

Live by the sword...

That is harsh. Should have been one or the other. If the EPL get tough as this we can guess why Pep is going? Take the medals and run.

This will not be over turned. Imagine the fallout if it is reversed. Wonder if Soton spied on Man City?

It's absolutely insane.

Amazing how quickly this was dealt with.

Insane punishment. Comical over reaction.

Did they hire the guy that does youtube pranks dressed as a bush

Phil Campion, ex SAS and Saints fan.

I might be wrong to think this isn't an actual rule, but where are there any rules about spying on another team, and linked penalties listed?

Shouldn't of been so blacent

absurd decsion ,another nail in the credibility of the people that run our beautiful game. totally shocking

They played 2 lots of 90 mins and didn't beat Boro despite cheating. They had the advantage of extra time at own ground cos finished above Boro poss as result of cheating. In this situation, to describe giving benefit of doubt to innocent party as absurd is a bit odd.

stu 20 May 26 00:31

I might be wrong to think this isn't an actual rule, but where are there any rules about spying on another team?




Saints were charged by the EFL on 8 May with breaking two regulations.

EFL Regulation 3.4, which requires clubs to act towards each other with the utmost good faith; and

EFL Regulation 127, which prohibits any club from observing, or attempting to observe, another club's training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match between the two clubs.

The rule or law was brought in after the Bielsa spying incident

Southampton put the league in a terrible position. They have admitted it wasnt a one off

A fine - given the previous posts have referred to the £100m game - what level would be appropriate
A points deduction - well if they get promoted and stay in the PL it may not apply
Expulsion seems the only sensible route
A lengthy ban for the coach will follow


Perhaps the manager owes it to the fans to come out and explain what the benefits of spying are
Saints fans let down massively

My brother knows someone who works for Southampton and he reckons this story will run and run.

Apparently first team players are due to have a meeting with a view to contacting the players union with a view to suing the club.

They feel through no fault of their own they will lose bonuses attached to gaining promotion and should they have gained promotion (and they were favourites to do so) most would have received enhanced contracts.

They are also unhappy regarding losing money from the play off championship final which is estimated at £2 million per club for the finalists.

Will THEY play the  final this  Saturday. Wembley "BOOKED" UP for the  next 3 Saturdays. So if  Southampton appeal ?. {Watch this  Blog}

It amazes me that anyone thinks looking at a team training would be any help in a game.
The "spy" should have been invited to sit beside the pitch, set up with a table and chair, and given a cup of tea and a few biscuits.

Players, trainers, staff talking behind their hands is another idiotic feature of the game.
While I am having a good rant and enjoying it what about players grabbing the ball out of the net after scoring a goal and rushing back to the centre circle?
Do they not realise that the clock is stopped after they score?

Brian McClair to blame for that one.

The fans might have a case too, having forked out thousands, each
to follow the club.

It amazes me that anyone thinks looking at a team training would be any help in a game.

Clubs spend fortunes on analytics, inputting data of new
moves in training is important.



Look at Newcastle v Liverpool last season in Cup final

Howe kidded Liverpool in league game, and then away
at West ham that livramento wouldn't cross with his left foot

He repositioned Dan burn at corners

Had Liverpool seen this in training they wouldn't have fallen for it.

i suppose watching team training before a match would give info on

team shape - teams can always tinker with their shape dependent on opposition
whos taking part in the training and whos sitting out
corner routines
free kick routines
potential penalty takers and where takers place penalties

Obviously the saints manager though it would provide useful info otherwise he wouldnt have done it

what a mess - feel sorry for the players and supporters

Saints were charged by the EFL on 8 May with breaking two regulations.

EFL Regulation 3.4, which requires clubs to act towards each other with the utmost good faith; and

EFL Regulation 127, which prohibits any club from observing, or attempting to observe, another club's training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match between the two clubs.

Thanks dunc for confirming - seems an added rule section after a Leeds' case a bit ago. Not sure if penalty tariffs were fully clearly added though, or not...?

Obviously the saints manager though it would provide useful info otherwise he wouldnt have done it

Funny thing is, seems their previous games they admitted this for, they didn't win though!

They were only charged with 3 offences

They admitted to 3.


Maybe there is more to come when full investigation happens.

Has the iPhone been fully tracked for the season, it's hard
to believe they only cheated 3 times out of 46

Some Canadian coaches got 1 year ban off FIFA

I fail to see what all the fuss is about.

Did southampton voluntarily say they spied on 2 other teams or did the other clubs report them as well , maybe that is why there was a points deduction as well .

Boro 1.73
Hull 3
Southampton 9.6

some of the detail mind-blowing
eastleigh play next to ipswich training ground,and the py they end their bought got hold of an eatleight kit and put it on o he,d blend in when filming ipswich training session, tonda was complaining about the quality of info they were paying to him,the spy at boro was going to be their 2 days  texting fellow staff about how good the hotel was

Staggering, innit.

just a tad

What is happening , they said it would be settled today

Kicked off at 6pm, waiting, waiting, waiting...

1.76 boro
2.98 ull
9.8 spyhampton

In order of stupidity, most stupid first

The law
Getting caught
The punshment
The crime

I think the penalties are to high . So let Southampton play in final. If they win they pay every other championship team
a set payment out of the 200 mil, When they get relegated, they start with some points deduction

I think the penalties are to high . So let Southampton play in final. If they win they pay every other championship team
a set payment out of the 200 mil, When they get relegated, they start with some points deduction

He who sticks his nose into a beehive, will come out with more than a nostril full of honey

1.56 boro
2.84 ull
Need binoculars to see cheating Southampton price

genius coachbuster

southampton are bang to rights its that simple. comparisons with leeds are a red herring as the rules werent in place then.

Harwood Bellis must be feeling more like Harwood-Be11end now after his binoculus celebration in the semis

... And the guy mocking ayling

And the supporters sing we spy when we want...

Like to see Hull win that final.At least they've won a game.

Official...Saints lose appeal

Southampton's appeal against being thrown out of the play-offs has been dismissed by a League Arbitration Panel

Watch a BBC Radio Solent Sport special here.

Southampton FC apologises to fans, players and the wider football community after admitting allegations of spying on three other teams

Team expelled from the play-offs, and handed a four-point deduction for the 2026/27 season

Fans express anger at missing out on chance to win Premier League place

Middlesbrough, beaten by Southampton in the semi-final, will play Hull City for a place in the Premier League on Saturday

Former Saints boss Harry Redknapp describes his old club's spying as 'stupid beyond belief' but says their expulsion from the play-off final is 'very harsh'

https://x.com/i/status/2057200958770180398

..

This taints everyone at club, right down to the cleaners, and this kind of mud sticks, big time.
They shouldn't have done.
End of.

Shouldn't have done it even.

Why was the spy in civvies why couldn't he have got dressed as a tree or shrub,,,,,,

How about the bookies? They have spys/informants at clubs

Hull claim to have a case that they should be declared playoff winners - not surprising since Boro were out and then Soton were subsequently DQed from the playoffs (instead of, say, awarding a 3-0 win to Boro in the 1st leg) so they are the only team left. Dunno if Wrexham also think they have a legal case that they should have been in the playoffs? Can of worms.

Certainly a case for Wrexham.

And what about the teams that went down, who might have stayed up.

Where there's blame there's a claim

Boro did well signing up nick de Marco, he's the top guy at the mo.

How to turn what should have been a great season for Southampton, into a truly terrible season.

Wondering if Southampton could take this to the Court for Arbitration for Sport even after the final ?

They cheated, why drag it out further

F. A have opened an investigation, some people will
be looking at new career.

Because the general sentiment is that the punishment is massively disproportionate.

They've had one game taken off them for cheating

Plus only 4 points next season.

They cheated to win £200m it didn't work so boro progress.

I feel sorry for their fans, but southampton cheated all
season and robbed the fans of the other 23 teams all season.

Having one result out of 48 games overturned is a mild
punishment for what they have done

I would relegate them.

But it's up for debate exactly how much sporting advantage you can actually gain from watching training sessions, you're even allowed to do it up to 72 hours before kick off. Also allowed in Germany, Turkey and South America. Nobody denies that this is against the rule in this country with 72 hours, but diving is against the rules and sometimes VAR misses that cheating action, yet no retrospective action is taken in regards to the result of the match when Webb comes out after and admits there was a mistake there. That's direct cheating directing affecting an outcome, much worse than watching players carrying out training drills.

Must say that a football team and their supporters complete season ruined by someone taking a few photos of a training session seems way over the top, should have made them replay the game giving Middlesboro a goal advantage perhaps.

Doesn't matter where it is allowed, it's not allowed in championship

No var in championship so that is another strawman.

They cheated, got caught, and got off lightly, so far.

VAR or no VAR the point is still exactly the same, players cheat all the time, every single match, they will feign injury to get players sent off, dive for penalties etc, for me that is real cheating, their just doesn't seem to be much sporting advantage from watching training sessions. They broke the rule but the punishment doesn't appear to fit the crime. Middlesbrough probably can't believe their luck.

It also opens up that can of worms with other teams that were spied on and the cases they'll now put forward to have retrospective action taken which will have all sorts of consequences for even more sides.

Yeah, let them sue the cheats.

The sanction for diving is a yellow card, not loss of game
but yellow card can cost you a game.

I remember Southampton cheating to get a Newcastle player sent off
so they are aware of diving too.

But diving is cheating, if you dive for a penalty, that has a massive effect on the result, if you get away with diving thanks to ref error after the pen is scored, and it's not acknowledge til after the match, as it stands, no retrospective action is taken, and that is much more of a direct act of cheating then watching training.

But Boro have been given a leg up to the final AFTER the event, other teams are now going to want to have retrospective sporting action taken after the event to, which would reshape the whole table, then you wonder exactly how many other teams have been doing this, can't just be Southampton? it's just that they're the only ones caught so far.

Hull really should just be given automatic promotion imo.

But diving's all a strawman.

If Southampton had got away with cheating by spying they would
have got £200million. They would have done if it wasn't for them
meddling smoggies.

There will be at least one decision in the play off final that
the ref gets wrong,... That's football

Thankfully it won't benefit Southampton.

They were battered for large parts in that game

So what happens then if it comes out that 5-6 other teams have been at it, say Ipswich, Coventry or West Brom who just survived etc, they would have to be consistent and how out sporting actions, teams will make claims to be awarded 3-0 wins reshaping the table, could go on and on.

But you are imagining other teams cheated

If they did then look at the punishment, apply it,
and crack on.

Let other clubs sue.

Why would other clubs sue for money when instead they'd want a sporting action taken, like Boro have benefitted from?
Boro lost, Soton were found to have broken the rule against them, Boro then elevated to the final.
So why would other teams who were cheated against by Southampton not want to be given a sporting advantage too? i.e. a reverse 3-0 win awarded, which reshapes the table, and puts team into different positions such as a play off sport, or avoiding relegation?
Suing them for a few quid is no good.

And the EFL also has to contemplate many other things, such as Hull who apparently will take legal action if they lose the final...to Boro.

And the possibility of other teams being found to have been spying all season, cannot just be Soton.

So not only is the punishment massively disproportionate to the crime and the lack of real sporting advantage you can gain from watching training, but it sets a very dangerous precedent going forward, players suing their own club for loss of earnings, as reported with Southampton players, clubs threatening legal action wanting retrospective sporting sanctions taken, i.e. reverse wins given etc.

I said apply sanction

Here's my previous post again



But you are imagining other teams cheated

If they did then look at the punishment, apply it,
and crack on.

Let other clubs sue.

But you have to anticipate other clubs having cheated to avoid the car crash mess that could ensue as listed above.

So not only is the punishment massively disproportionate t

This is also where you are wrong,^^^^

the punishment was one game lost

They chose to cheat for 200 million, so they set the stakes, if caught
they wouldn't get 200 million, if they stood to gain 10p would
they send a guy to Middlesborough for 2 days?

They knew cheating was working for them, so continued

And that also makes no sense, if the punishment was one game lost, then they then need to go back and change results from all the other games they spied on, they may only have admitted to the ones so far where they didn't gain anything but it's highly unlikely that was it. And it's also highly unlikely they are the only one's who've done it. Which is why when it comes to punishment, the EFL have to take that into account in case that comes to light, then it becomes one huge car crash mess. Their unbeaten run also included KO'ing Arsenal, can't spy there, it's just that they were a very good team with a good manager to have KO'd a couple of Prem sides.

They might well go back and deduct all of Southampton points
and relegate them

I hope they do.

Boro get advantage as they caught them, and so action
could be taken, and cheats kicked out.

Well done boro anti spying team.

There's only one aspect that could be debated really in this case, and that is the strength of sanction/penalty.

TBH I'm not sure the authorities had a lot of choice, as imagine them being allowed to be promoted. If earlier in season would have been a simpler issue, and less impact.

But there is a problem that, as far as I know, the actual sanctions aren't directly stated in the guidelines/rules?

Should have a hefty fine and 30 point deduction if they play in the EFL in the next ten yrs.

The only people it affects are the supporters

Coulnt have gained much info and the 2 game play off was bo lloox so no advantage ,Boro didnt win.

Cologne were caught spying in 2015 vs Hamburg. You’ll never guess who was there at the time, would you? Better yet, look at the details of how it was set up. A hotel booked in the opposition clubs facility..

From twitter

Reasons for decision

https://www.efl.com/news/2026/may/21/efl-statement--written-reasons-relating-to-southampton-fc/

..

At the 2014 world Cup, France complained about a drone
flying over their training session in warm up for
game v Germany.

Guess who was an analyst for Germany at 2014 World cup

And Germany went on to win...

Rather well set up v Brazil iirc...

Seems like the historical cases didn't result in such a severe penalty applied overall - though partly due to different contexts possibly...?

Just a wild guess but Middlesborough knew there was a "spy" watching.
If Middlesborough knew the rules (daft rules) then they knew they were in the final.

If I was the Middlesborough coach I would have practiced these set-pieces
(1) Morris dancing
(2) Riverdance
(3) Samba
(4) the Robot

Yes, it must have been a fluke Saints beating the Premier winners ( with no reports of " spying ". )

Spying probably allowed for fa cup

I'd be amazed if he wasn't at it, given his record
back to 2014

Labdrokes got him in next James bond betting...