Southampton could be kicked out of the EFL Championship play-offs as Spygate twist emerges | OneFootball

Southampton are expected to be hit with a sporting sanction if they are found guilty of spying on Middlesbrough ahead of their play-off game.

Southampton’s play-off clash with Middlesbrough has been overshadowed by ‘Spygate’ accusations as the duo battle to face Hull at Wembley.

The south coast outfit have been charged by the EFL with misconduct after Boro believe they caught a Saints' employee watching their training session ahead of the first leg, which ended goalless.

Boro boss Kim Hellberg was furious at what had gone on, as he claimed his side had been the victims of ‘cheating’.

Whilst an independent disciplinary commission are now looking into the incident, it has been reported that Boro are pushing for ‘sporting sanctions’ to be applied to Saints if they are found guilty, as opposed to a fine.

Southampton ‘likely’ to receive sporting sanction amid ‘Spygate’ fallout

And, in a fresh development, journalist Martyn Zeigler has revealed that Southampton are ‘likely’ to be hit with a sporting penalty if they are found guilty.

He explains that there is a possibility they could still be kicked out of the play-offs if they beat Boro tonight, whilst another option is for Saints to have effectively forfeit the first leg, which would result in a 3-0 win for Middlesbrough.

If Boro progress, the update adds that Southampton could be hit with a points deduction next season, when they would be a Championship club.

Crucially, it’s also stated that the commission are pushing to reach a verdict prior to the play-off final date, which is scheduled for May 23.

As well as that, if Saints do appeal a punishment, they would aim for that to be ‘expedited’ too, so there should be a relatively swift outcome for this saga.

Southampton and Middlesbrough spying issue will continue to dominate the headlines

This has been quite a remarkable few days, and, in some ways, it’s a real shame that this is the major talking point instead of football on the pitch.

Boro were dominant in the first half on Saturday, but they couldn’t get the goals their play deserved. To their credit, Saints battled back, and it means it’s evenly poised going into the second leg.

Yet, this development shows that if Southampton do win tonight, it still may not be definitive, and that’s a crazy situation to be in.

Obviously, it’s important that the EFL enforce the rules properly, and everyone would agree that clubs shouldn’t be spying on their opponents in the build-up to the game.

But, what sort of punishment that deserves is going to create debate, and it will be interesting to see what the commission decides to do if Southampton do progress.

If Boro do win at St. Mary’s Stadium, it would solve a lot of problems for the EFL in the sense that they wouldn’t have to kick them out of the play-offs. However, it’s still not something that is going to be swept under the carpet, with the potential for a points deduction to be applied next season.

Now, all eyes are on the big game, but we clearly haven’t heard the last of ‘Spygate’, and it’s something that will continue to dominate the headlines as we wait for an official verdict, no matter what the result is.