Why the EFL won't have the final say on Southampton, Middlesbrough Spygate punishment | OneFootball

Southampton have learned of the EFL's role within their Spygate punishment, after accusations made by Middlesbrough to the EFL...

Despite Southampton beating Middlesbrough 2-1 in the play-off semi-final, the talk has been dominated by "Spygate" and claims made against Tonda Eckert's side.

Prior to the first fixture on Saturday, Southampton were accused of spying on Middlesbrough at their training ground. Naturally, Boro were furious at Southampton over 'Spygate' 2.0, which followed on from Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa's incident with Derby County in 2019.

Official rules on spying on football clubs were put in place off the back of the drama involving Leeds, with clubs not permitted to directly or indirectly observe (or attempt to observe) another club's training session in the period of 72 hours prior to any match scheduled to be played between the respective clubs.

The story has dominated the last week, with other Championship clubs coming out in support of Middlesbrough as well. The play-off semi-final may have gone Southampton's way but has been overshadowed by Tonda Eckert's alleged spying.

Southampton learn what the EFL's role within Spygate is

Leeds were fined £200,000 but the EFL amended its rulebook due to Bielsa and their actions involving Frank Lampard's side. It was deemed as unsporting but there was no official rule against spying at the time.

Southampton now claim that they are cooperating fully with the EFL to get to the bottom of the accusation against Boro but it appears that the situation is becoming more serious following the blow of the final whistle after last night's 2-1 victory after extra time at St. Mary's.

The exact location of the Southampton spy has been revealed recently. Now, further details have been revealed in a report from The Sun. They state that EFL officials are hoping to complete a hearing and any subsequent appeal process before the play-off final.

That is on May 23 – although an independent panel will have the final say on what happens to Southampton. Should they be found guilty, then the extent of their punishment could very well be severe.

In fact, it's already been claimed Southampton could yet be kicked out of the play-off final. The team that finished fourth are set to face the team in sixth, after Hull City beat Millwall 2-0 at The Den on Monday night.

What Kim Hellberg said about Southampton and Tonda Eckert

Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg was left emotional and angry after last night's match, with the Boro manager stating: "I worked 15 years as a coach to try and get to the Premier League. That's my dream. That's been my dream for 15 years.

"When I take the Middlesbrough job, I know there are clubs with bigger resources or parachute payments, which means money to spend. There are teams, to be fair, that had bigger squads, that had more money to spend.

"What you have as a coach and what you have as a group is the tactical element of the game, where we can beat the opponent. And I think that's what everyone loves about the game. I think that's why I look at England and think this is the home of football.

"When you battle with teams who have more money and a bigger squad, you try to find a way to do the tactical element to get the advantage.

"That's what you always try to do because we can be better in that element. When that is taken away from you, I think it's no longer fair."