Southampton has been expelled from the play-offs and will start next season in the Championship with a four-point deduction after admitting to spying on rivals. They have appealed the decision, which will be heard on Wednesday.
Southampton will be playing in the Championship next season after they were expelled from the play-offs following their admission that they spied on three league rivals this season.
In addition, they will start next season on minus four points after the English Football League (EFL) charged them with watching training sessions of Oxford United and Ipswich Town, in addition to filming Middlesbrough as they prepared for the first leg of their play-off semi-final on 7 May.
Southampton beat Middlesbrough over two legs but the latter have been reinstated and will play Hull City for a place in the Premier League at Wembley on Saturday.
The Saints have appealed, with that hearing set to be heard on Wednesday, but does the punishment fit the crime, or have they been harshly done by?
'They've paid the ultimate price'
Southampton's expulsion from the play-off final means they will miss out on a game dubbed the richest in world football, with the winners guaranteed a minimum £110m in Premier League broadcast revenue.
The whole saga came under the spotlight after Middlesbrough reported Southampton for spying on a training session on Thursday, 7 May as they prepared to meet each other in the first leg of the play-off semi-finals two days later.
Saints were then charged by the EFL on 8 May with breaking two regulations.
EFL Regulation 3.4, which requires clubs to act towards each other with the utmost good faith; and
EFL Regulation 127, which prohibits any club from observing, or attempting to observe, another club's training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match between the two clubs.
Former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson praised the EFL for applying a punishment that he feels protects the integrity of the game.
"I kind of quite like it," he said on BBC Radio 5 live.
"It is like when you're a naughty kid. If you admit three or four things, you have clearly done seven or eight, and you have been caught for them all. The integrity of the game is of the utmost importance.
"It is not the first time they have done it. They have offered their hand, and they have paid the ultimate price for it. It is a strong punishment."
Ex-Arsenal defender Matt Upson felt the EFL had to send a strong message with the punishment.
He said: "If you're going to set the standard for behaviour, if it is there and they have got legislation, and they want to apply it, that is what it's there for.
"It just reads that they are bang to rights with this."
Ex-Southampton midfielder Jo Tessem said his former club "did not have a leg to stand on".
"I am speechless," he told BBC Radio Solent. "I am disappointed that the club had to go to these lengths to get the information they did.
Q&A
Why was Southampton expelled from the play-offs?
Southampton was expelled for admitting to spying on three league rivals during the season.
What penalties did Southampton face after their expulsion?
Southampton will start next season with a four-point deduction in the Championship.
Who will replace Southampton in the play-offs?
Middlesbrough has been reinstated and will compete against Hull City for a place in the Premier League.
When will Southampton's appeal hearing take place?
Southampton's appeal hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
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"For Southampton Football Club this is a really sad day."
He added: "We have rules and we need to follow them. We have been punished hard for not following very simple rules and maybe football needs to set these rules and punish hard to get people to follow them.
"Clearly when you admit to doing this three times it feels like you don't have much of a leg to stand on."
Figure caption,
Why Southampton were kicked out of the play-off final
What do Southampton, Middlesbrough and Hull fans think?
Some Southampton fans hoped the actual details of the spying incident involving Middlesbrough might help ensure there was some leniency in their punishment.
The spy, Southampton analyst intern William Salt, is said to have parked at the golf club, then walked a couple of hundred yards down a road which leads to a raised area of ground.
Sources told the BBC that the accused simply stood pointing his mobile at the training session, while wearing in-ear headphones.
Middlesbrough staff believe he may have been live-streaming the session via a video call.
Southampton fan Cameron said he expected expulsion from the play-offs was a strong possibility, but felt the four point deduction for next season in addition was too much.
"I am shocked, to be honest," he told BBC Radio Solent.
"I mean, from everything that was going on, we knew the punishment was going to be harsh.
"After seeing the picture come out of what it was actually like with just an iPhone AirPods, we thought, okay, might not be that bad, but to be expelled from the play-offs and a four-point deduction seems way too harsh."
Fellow Saints fans Chris Jewell added: "I think it's a bit unfair.
"I know we have done wrong but how they can stop it when they have sold all these tickets, people have booked coaches. I am absolutely gutted about this."
Middlesbrough supporters speaking to the BBC outside the club's Riverside Stadium on Tuesday were understandably delighted.
Supporter and podcaster Jimmy Lees said: "It would have been massively unfair to the ethics of game of football.
"If Southampton were able to play in the final on Saturday, what example would that set for everyone else in football? Is it worth cheating to try and get that unfair advantage?
"Thankfully the EFL stood firm, gave their punishment and kicked Southampton out of the final. Now it is Middlesbrough's opportunity to play Hull and hopefully get Premier League promotion."
Fellow fan Chris Saunders added: "I am stunned. Stuff like this doesn't happen to Boro - we are used to our hopes being dashed and bitter disappointment. I was expecting them to get away with it and a big fine."
For Hull there will be some frustration that the team has been preparing to face one opponent but will now be taking on a different one with just three more days to train.
Prior to the decision being announced, Hull City assistant manager Dean Holden said on the Monday Night Club that the club would be prepared for whatever eventuality.
"If anything changes in the next few days then we'll have to adapt to that," he said.
"There's obviously going to be a lot of emotion, a lot of nervous energy, going into such a big occasion and for us it's about the players going out there and not overthinking.
"We've adapted well to teams we're playing against, to injuries and we've found ways to win."
For BBC Radio Humberside sports editor Mike White, there still remains too much uncertainty given Southampton's appeal.
"There will be questions about whether Hull City consider their legal position in all of it, because they have been put in a position where they have had a couple of days notice to prepare for Middlebsrough," he said.
"But I think there's too many good professionals at Hull City. I would be amazed if they hadn't done some sort of work, prep or plan for Middlesbrough being the opponent. Ultimately, in the public eye they have been given three days notice to prepare for Middlesbrough. So would they consider their legal standing?
"The hope is they go into the final, win the final, and justice has been done in that sense. It's mucky, it's horrible and not a nice position for anyone to be in. Southampton made their bed and have to lie in it."
How could it impact Southampton?
As a neutral observer who has grown to love dealing with the club over many years, and loved getting to know the people who work at the club and support it, the stain goes beyond the people who were responsible.
It will sit with the club for many years, and that is something they did not consider when they made their appalling decisions to put the club's reputation at risk.
You also have an owner who has put in £100m this year to support the club with the hope he may get something back at the end of it and now that has been taken away as well, so what will it do for the financial future of Southampton?
What they put at risk was never worth doing it for.
An unprecedented situation - what happens next?
When we first heard that Middlesbrough had lodged a spying complaint against Southampton, few expected the south coast club could be thrown out of the play-offs.
After all, the only time any club had been accused of spying before resulted in a £200,000 fine.
That was when Leeds watched Derby training seven years ago, but at that time there was no specific rule against spying on an opponent before a game.
That led the EFL to introduce regulation 127, which outlawed any attempt to observe an opponent in the 72 hours before they played each other.
It meant that going into this case there was no precedent, no hint at what a potential punishment could really be.
We already knew it was possible that Southampton could be thrown out of the play-offs, but the news that Saints had admitted to three separate charges probably left the disciplinary panel with no other option.
That Southampton failed to win any of the three games – they lost to Oxford and drew with Ipswich and Boro – is largely irrelevant.
It indicates a systemic culture of what many will consider to be cheating.
Who knew what, and when, is now going to be crucial.
The EFL can only take disciplinary action against clubs, it is up the Football Association to punish individuals.
The FA had been waiting for the EFL's process to complete. Once the appeal is heard on Wednesday, we can expect the governing body to move and ask questions of those in control at Southampton, from the hierarchy to the coaching staff.
When Canada were caught spying on New Zealand before a game at the 2024 Olympics women's tournament, three members of staff – including head coach Bev Priestman – were banned from all football for a year by Fifa.
