Matt Le Tissier drops hopeful claim on Southampton punishment after Middlesbrough win | OneFootball

The former Saints captain has spoken out on the subject of Southampton's contentious Championship play-off semi-final against Middlesbrough.

The former Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier has struck an optimistic note, following Southampton's tense win over Middlesbrough in their Championship play-off semi-final.

Southampton had cause to celebrate on Wednesday night, after a narrow 2-1 win against Middlesborough sent them through to the Championship play-off final. Having played out a goalless draw at The Riverside Stadium last Saturday, St Mary's was rocked early on when Riley McGree gave Boro the lead after just five minutes.

Ross Stewart equalised for the Saints shortly before half-time, but the game went to an extra thirty minutes after neither team were able to break the other down in the second half. The match was eventually won three minutes from the end of extra-time thanks to a goal from Shea Charles.

It was a somewhat bad-tempered evening, with controversy over the "Spygate" allegations hanging heavy over the evening. Middlesbrough's Luke Ayling reported a discriminatory comment made by Southampton’s captain, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, while the Saints' head coach Tonda Eckert stormed out of the post-match press conference after being asked by a reporter, "Are you a cheat?"

The EFL have already charged Southampton after being accused of sending a member of staff to watch Middlesbrough training. Southampton have asked for more time to respond to the charges so that they can hold an internal review into what happened, Under normal circumstances, they would have 14 days to respond to the charges, but the EFL has asked the independent disciplinary commission for "a hearing at the earliest opportunity" on account of the play-off final being scheduled for the 23rd May.

Matthew Le Tissier strikes optimistic note following controversial Southampton win

Posting to the social media platform X on the morning after the match, former Southampton legend Matthew Le Tissier has offered his thoughts on the Middlesbrough match. He couldn't hide his delight at the Saints booking a place at Wembley: "The morning after the night before, and what a night it was at St Mary's. Fantastic atmosphere, a great advert for EFL football, and I really felt like both sets of players put in a magnificent effort. Going 120 minutes at this stage of the season takes a heck of a lot of effort."

He also had words of praise for Middlesbrough, though he felt that Southampton deserved to win the tie: "A lot of respect for the performance that Middlesbrough put in. I thought they were excellent, especially in the first leg, but I thought the second half last night, and into extra-time, I feel like we were the better team."

On the subject of the "Spygate" allegations, Le Tissier feels that it would be unfair on the Southampton players to be punished on account of what somebody else within the club: "I really hope that with the stuff that's gone on off the pitch, that the players don't get punished because they've put a brilliant effort since January, unbeaten in the league since the middle of January, and to take away from that achievement would be really harsh. But we'll see what happens, and we'll go from there."

Le Tissier's argument that Southampton's players shouldn't be punished over "Spygate" is unlikely to be persuasive

Southampton may have beaten Middlesbrough to get to Wembley, but their place in the final isn't quite guaranteed yet, on account of the charge hanging over them as a result of the Spygate drama.

Middlesbrough are clearly deeply unhappy at Southampton's actions. After the match, their head coach Kim Hellberg described the saga as "disgraceful", adding that it "breaks my heart." Boro are seeking a sporting sanction against Southampton over the incident and, according to reporting by Michael Walker in The Athletic earlier this week, "Middlesbrough would prepare for the play-off final regardless of whether they win the tie against Southampton or not."

Southampton have been charged under a rule that was brought in following the previous "Spygate" drama which came about surrounding a match between Derby County and Leeds United in January 2019. After a Leeds member of staff was caught filming a Derby training session, the club were fined £200,000 by the EFL. The new rule was brought in specifically to deal with such allegations.

It's doubtful that Matthew Le Tissier's argument that Southampton's players shouldn't be punished because it was somebody else's behaviour which led to the situation in which they find themselves would be very persuasive to the EFL.

Sheffield Wednesday, for example, suffered an 18-point deduction over the persistent late payment of wages and entering into administration this season. None of this was the players' fault - indeed, they were on the receiving end of repeatedly being paid late - but when such punishments are handed out, it is the club that is being punished, rather than specifically the players.

A full range of punishments is available to the EFL in the event that Southampton are found guilty of the charges brought against them, and one of these two clubs is going to left feeling deeply unhappy, no matter what the outcome of the EFL's investigation into what happened at Middlesbrough's training ground turns out to be.