Big Southampton FC reaction given to Spygate twist - it's an 'absolute disgrace' | OneFootball

The EFL verdict on the Spygate drama that's engulfed the Championship play-offs has hit Southampton hard, and their fans are in uproar over it all.

The verdict of the Spygate case which has engulfed this year's Championship play-offs has hit Southampton supporters hard, and FLW's Saints fan pundit wants answers from the club.

The verdict from the EFL's independent commission over the Spygate affair is in, and the result was very bad news for Southampton. The Saints were found to have breached rules which prohibit covertly watching opponent training sessions within 72 hours of a match, and the cost they've paid is a heavy one, with the club having been removed from the play-offs and handed a four-point deduction for next season.

It was found that the club hadn't only done this for their play-off semi-final first leg against Middlesbrough, but also for Championship away matches against Oxford United and Ipswich Town earlier in the season. The club's defence, that this was done by an intern acting under his own steam, has been dismissed by the League.

The club have appealed the sanctions, and a verdict is expected quickly, with the play-off final due to be played at Wembley on the 23rd May, but unless their appeal does turn out to be successful, it will be Middlesbrough who line up against Hull City in the final rather than Southampton.

"Nothing short of an absolute disgrace" - Southampton and EFL criticised over Spygate verdict

Football League World have spoken to our Southampton fan pundit Martin Sanders to get his reaction to the verdict, and to say that Martin is disappointed would be something of an understatement, although the rumour mill had been suggesting to him that something like this could happen: "My feeling is of utter disbelief. Last week, when I heard rumours that this wasn't the only club they'd done it to, I was getting particularly worried, and I'd heard that from several sources."

Martin's view is that Southampton fans are victims of the outcome of this process on account of the investment that they've made into their club this season: "I feel devastated and let down. I think as fans, we're gutted. We've kicked every ball, we've lived every moment and travelled up and down the country. We went to two semi-finals."

But while it's clear that the club bear the responsibility for what's happened, he's also critical of the EFL's handling of the matter, in particular with regard to arrangements for final itself: "I think the EFL haven't handled it great, to be honest. I think they should have made sure they stopped the first game and tried to get a resolution. They've taken all the ticket sales and everything else that's gone on, travel booked, people that have booked flights, and then to do this four days before is nothing short of an absolute disgrace."

Martin feels that his club need to look very closely at what's gone wrong, though his conclusion is extreme disappointment with all parties involved: "The club need to hold a thorough investigation, but I'm bitterly, bitterly, bitterly disappointed with everyone involved."

Southampton's appeal will be heard extremely quickly, and there may be further twists in this story to come

The Spygate case was unusual, in that it was almost impossible to say what any sanctions for breaching this rule would be ahead of their pronouncement on Tuesday evening. The rule concerned was introduced in 2019 after a similar story involving Leeds United in January of that year, but Leeds were charged under different rules, and the £200,000 fine that they received was for a common or garden League fixture rather than a play-off semi-final.

On top of that, it is clear that this wasn't the only occasion that Southampton had engaged in such behaviour over the course of this season. It was found that they had done so ahead of League fixtures against Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April. There is a striking irony to the fact that, along with the Middlesbrough first leg, they failed to win any of these three matches.

And FLW's Saints correspondent has a reasonable point to make about the handling of the arrangements for the final itself, which have been a bit of a mess. With less than four days left until the match is due to be played, fans didn't know for sure what time it would kick off, meaning that, for supporters of Hull City and Middlesbrough, making travel arrangements remained extremely tricky.

Southampton's appeal against the sanctions levied against them will be heard extremely quickly because of the time constraints placed upon the EFL by the timings involved at the end of the season.

What does seem clear is that this wasn't a one-off, and that the club had been flouting a rule that the League put into its place seven years ago. Ignorance of a rule or law isn't usually considered a reasonable defence, and whether the club's assertion that the verdict reached is too harsh is an extremely subjective matter.

But given the way in which this story has already unfolded, it wouldn't be surprising if there were further twists to come. But regardless of what the ultimate outcome of it all turns out to be, it's very difficult to avoid the ultimate conclusion that this is a mess of Southampton's making, and that the club needs to look very long and very hard at how they could have found themselves in this position in the first place.