Following their admission that they spied on three teams during the Championship season, Southampton have been expelled from the play-offs.
After being defeated by Southampton in the semi-final, Middlesbrough has been reinstated and will now face Hull City for a spot in the Premier League.
In addition to filming Middlesbrough in preparation for the first leg of their play-off semi-final on May 7, the EFL tasked Saints with monitoring training sessions involving Oxford United and Ipswich Town.
Additionally, the independent disciplinary committee gave Southampton a four-point penalty in the Championship for the upcoming campaign.
The match, which has been dubbed the richest in the world, will now be missed by Saints, as the victors of the play-off final are assured a minimum of £110 million in Premier League television earnings.
The kickoff time for the championship match, which will be played at Wembley on Saturday, is still to be determined.
According to the EFL, Southampton confessed to many violations of EFL rules pertaining to the illegal filming of other clubs’ training sessions.
Furthermore, the club was scolded for every accusation.
According to BBC Sport, Southampton will submit an appeal on Wednesday, claiming that the penalty is excessive.
The EFL stated that on Wednesday, May 20, they would be working to address any appeals.
The statement also stated that the outcome may lead to a further modification to Saturday’s match.
An Independent League Arbitration panel with three new members will hear the appeal.
The EFL issued a statement saying: Southampton was initially accused of violations on Friday, May 8, and more allegations were made on Sunday, May 17, in connection with other infractions during the 2025–26 campaign.
Those extra costs resulted from issues that were brought to light after the first hearing concerning Middlesbrough.
Southampton acknowledged violating rules that mandate clubs to conduct with the highest integrity and forbid the surveillance of another club’s training session within 72 hours of a planned game.
The confessed violations involve matches against Oxford United in December 2025, Ipswich Town in April 2026, and Middlesbrough in May 2026.
None of the three games resulted in a victory for Southampton, as they suffered a 2-1 loss at Oxford, a 2-2 draw against Ipswich at home, and a 0-0 draw against Boro.
The statement went on to say: The EFL will issue more statements in due course after speaking with all three clubs about the ramifications of today’s conclusion.
A statement from Middlesbrough said they welcome the result.
This, we think, sends a clear message for the future of our game in terms of sports integrity and behavior, it continued.
Our club is currently concentrating on our match against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday. Details regarding tickets for our supporters will be released soon.
Tickets for Saturday’s game had already been sold by Southampton, and their fans will get a complete refund.
Although Southampton has not yet replied, a person with knowledge of the situation said the club was not given the exact reasons for the choice and that its lawyers were prepared to spend the night working on it.
The club’s chief executive has sent an email to employees expressing the club’s belief that the choice can be changed.
To prevent the possibility of the last being relocated, all parties are said to have agreed to resolve the issue by Wednesday.
They will, however, have to wait to see if the Football Association brings any charges against those who participated in the espionage. The EFL is limited to enforcing penalties against its affiliated clubs.
Three members of Canada’s staff, including the head coach, were banned from all football by Fifa for a year following a spying incident at the 2024 Olympic Games.
