Southampton FC called 'desperate' after play-offs expulsion appeal fails | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit has weighed in on Southampton's appeal of their play-off expulsion

Middlesbrough will compete in the play-off final as a result of Southampton’s expulsion from the competition.

The Saints were accused by Boro of spying on their pre-match training session prior to the first leg of their semi-final clash.

But Tonda Eckert’s side ultimately came out on top 2-1 on aggregate when the teams met on the pitch.

However, the EFL charged the club with breaching their rules prohibiting spying, which led to their expulsion from the play-offs, and their appeal of that decision proved unsuccessful.

Southampton have also been handed a four point deduction penalty after they admitted they spied on Boro, as well as Ipswich Town and Oxford United earlier in the campaign.

Kim Hellberg’s side are now one win away from returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.

Why Southampton’s appeal was never going to be successful

When asked if he’s surprised that Southampton’s appeal of their play-off expulsion wasn’t successful, FLW’s Middlesbrough fan pundit Liam Day claimed that it was always unlikely they would be reinstated to the final.

He believes that the Saints deserved to be removed from the competition for spying, and that once the call was made to expel them it was never going to be likely that an appeal would be a success, despite reports of the club’s confidence in that happening.

“I was never surprised it didn’t get overturned, I thought it was the correct decision,” Day told Football League World.

“I thought the appeal was a bit desperate, they said they were confident, were they ever actually confident? I don’t particularly know.

“I don’t think so personally.

“I thought the best case scenario would be that they got the points deduction overdone, but that wasn’t even the case.

“They got the full punishment, but no I wasn’t too surprised that it didn’t get overturned.

“I think once the EFL make a decision that big it would be so, so incredibly so stupid for them to go back on it immediately.

“So, I’m very glad they stuck to their guns.”

Day has claimed that putting Middlesbrough back into the final was a sensible decision, rather than Hull City simply earning promotion by default.

“I feel they made the right decision,” he continued.

“And when you look at the full context, they’ve definitely been spying over the full season, and the play-offs is a different entity to the Championship.

“They’ve been knocked out of a knock-out competition.

“We naturally were right to replace them, no matter what anyone else says I will stand by that.

“So, yeah, right decision and I’m glad they stuck to it.”

Middlesbrough occupied a top two position in the Championship table for quite a lot of the regular campaign, but a poor run of form saw them fall to fifth in the final weeks.

The club made a strong start to the season under Rob Edwards, who departed in November in order to take over at Wolves, which led to Hellberg joining in his place.

The Swede will be hoping to get his side back to their best just in time for their meeting with Hull on Saturday.

Boro and the Tigers both haven’t competed in the Premier League since they were both relegated in 2017.

The Teesside outfit reached the play-offs in 2023, but lost out to Coventry City in the semi-finals, so have the chance to now go one step further.

However, Sergej Jakirovic’s side won 2-0 in their semi-final against Millwall, and will prove a tough test at Wembley on Saturday.

The two teams will meet in the capital for a 3.30pm kick-off, with the winner earning promotion to the top flight.

Southampton’s appeal never stood a chance

Southampton were handed an extreme punishment, but that was the risk they were taking when they broke the rules.

Being expelled from the play-offs was on the table, but it was a surprise to many that it actually came to pass.

But once the decision was made, it was never likely that they would be reinstated on appeal, despite the club’s confidence in that decision.

The Saints have taken a significant reputational hit as a result of this scandal, but Middlesbrough have been gifted a fantastic chance at promotion, and it’s now up to the players to ensure they take it on Saturday against Hull.