BREAKING: Southampton expelled from playoffs for spying on three Championship clubs | OneFootball

Southampton have been expelled from Saturday’s Championship playoff final for spying on semi-final opponents Middlesborough, who have been reinstated to face Hull City at Wembley, as well as two other clubs.

The EFL’s independent disciplinary comission charged the Saints for one of their analysts having spied on first-team training ahead of the first-leg tie on May 7th, also handing them a four-point deduction for the 2026/27 season.

Tonda Eckert’s side admitted to “multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training”, the EFL said, which also included incidents of spying on Oxford United in December 2025 and Ipswich Town in April 2026.

“The EFL is now in discussion with all three clubs regarding the implications of today’s decision and will make a further announcement in due course”, the governing body added.

Middlesborough said in a statement that they “welcome the outcome”, after previously calling for Southampton to face punishment for breaching the EFL’s regulation, with their manager Kim Hellberg accusing them of cheating.

“We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct,” his side added.

“As a club, we are now focused on our game against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday. Ticket information for our supporters will be available shortly.”

The incident, nicknamed ‘Spygate 2.0’ by football fans, isn’t the first time a club was alleged to have resorted to spying on their opposition, with Leeds United having been charged with spying on playoff semi-final opponents Derby County during the 2018/19 campaign under Marco Bielsa.

United were charged £200,000 by the EFL.

Southampton had requested more time to conduct an internal investigation before facing the commission, which was not granted before being reprimanded for all of the above charges.

Regulation 127 of the EFL, which the Saints are accused of having breached by Boro, prohibits spying on opponents 72 hours or fewer before a competitive fixture.