Southampton’s appeal against EFL play-off expulsion is rejected, and the club shares an ‘extremely disappointing’ statement.
Southampton have lost their appeal against the decision to remove them from the EFL Championship play-offs over the ‘spygate’ scandal. This means the Saints won’t take part in the rest of this season’s play-offs. Instead, Middlesbrough will face Hull City in the final at Wembley on Saturday.
An independent disciplinary panel made their first decision on Tuesday after Southampton admitted to spying on three clubs during the 2025/26 season. The club also got a four-point deduction for next season’s Championship. All punishments were confirmed, and Southampton can’t appeal further at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Athletic shared that WhatsApp messages from manager Tonda Eckert to Saints analysts were found during the investigation, and he may face more action from the FA. The EFL said Southampton admitted to breaking rules by secretly filming other clubs’ training sessions.
Middlesbrough, who lost to Southampton in the play-off semi-final and had complained about the spying, were brought back into the play-offs while the appeal went on. Southampton appealed quickly, but since the play-off final is this Saturday, the EFL handled the appeal fast.
Now, the final will be Hull City versus Middlesbrough at Wembley, kicking off at 4:30 pm.
At the same time the EFL announced their decision, Southampton released a statement. They called the outcome ‘extremely disappointing’ and said the punishment was ‘disproportionate.’ The statement said, “We understand how serious this is and the attention it has gained. But we still believe the original penalty was too harsh, which many in football have agreed with over the past day.”
They added, “Southampton Football Club has a proud history, but now we need to rebuild trust. That work starts now. We will think carefully about what happened, learn from it, and make sure we move forward in the right way. Tonight is a tough night, but we will respond with humility, responsibility, and determination to fix things.”
This is the second big spying case involving Championship play-offs since 2019. Back then, Leeds and manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted spying on Derby before their semi-final first leg and were fined £200,000.
Southampton’s punishment was tougher because the EFL introduced a new rule after the Leeds case. This rule bans clubs from watching their rivals’ training within 72 hours before a game.
The ruling might upset Southampton’s first-team players, who were reportedly very angry at the decision. According to the Daily Mail, some players considered legal action since they lost out on a £250,000 bonus each if the club had won promotion on Saturday. Their wages had also been cut by 40% after relegation last season but would have gone back up with promotion.
During the investigation, it was suggested the play-offs be treated as a separate competition from the regular Championship season. That’s why Southampton weren’t removed from the Championship entirely and still keep their fourth-place finish.