Southampton Expelled from Play-Offs for Spying on Middlesbrough Southampton has been disqualified from the Championship play-offs following allegations of spying on Middlesbrough ahead of their semi-final clash, with the club also facing a four-point deduction for the 2026-27 season. The English Football League (EFL) confirmed the sanctions after an investigation into the incident, which occurred two days before the first leg of the semi-final. Middlesbrough, who lost to Southampton in the semi-final, were reinstated and will now face Hull City in the final, set to take place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. The EFL stated that Southampton admitted to "multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorized filming of other clubs' training sessions." The club received a reprimand for all charges, with the EFL citing two specific regulations as violations. Regulation 3.4 mandates that clubs must act with the utmost good faith toward each other, while Regulation 127 prohibits any club from observing or attempting to observe another club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match. The alleged spying took place on Thursday, 7 May, the day before the semi-final. Middlesbrough’s training session at Rockliffe Park was the target of the breach. According to sources, a Southampton analyst parked at a nearby golf club and walked approximately 200 yards along a road leading to a raised area of ground. The individual, wearing in-ear headphones, was reportedly observed pointing his mobile phone at the training session. A Middlesbrough staff member approached the person but did not identify themselves. The individual quickly deleted content from their phone before fleeing to the golf club’s toilets, changing clothes, and leaving the site.#southampton #middlesbrough #wembley_stadium #english_football_league #rockliffe_park
