Southampton expelled from Championship playoffs, Middlesbrough reinstated

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The Championship play-off final will now take place between Middlesbrough and Hull City at Wembley Stadium on Saturday May 23. The south-coast club will appeal the decision, made by an English Football League’s (EFL) Independent Disciplinary Commission,  which also sees them handed a four-point deduction for the 2026-27 season in the Championship. The EFL said in a statement that Southampton had “admitted to multiple breaches of EFL Regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training.” Middlesbrough said the club “welcomes” the outcome, which it says sends a “clear message”. Middlesbrough Football Club welcomes the outcome of today’s Disciplinary Commission hearing. We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct. As a club, we are now focused on our game against… pic.twitter.com/6cjskjZKDY — Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) May 19, 2026 The EFL statement detailed: “Southampton admitted breaches of regulations requiring clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match. “The admitted breaches concern fixtures against Oxford United in December 2025, Ipswich Town in April 2026 and Middlesbrough in May 2026.” The EFL charge came last week after a Southampton analyst, William Salt, allegedly observed Middlesbrough’s training session 48 hours before the team’s met in the play-off semi-final first leg. The match finished 0-0 but Southampton won the tie 2-1 with a stoppage-time goal at St Mary’s. Among Middlesbrough’s evidence submitted was a photo of the alleged ‘spy’, a member of Tonda Eckert’s backroom analysis team, half-covered by a tree at their Rockliffe Park training ground holding up his mobile phone. The club also had a statement from a former member of Southampton’s staff regarding the practise of ‘spying’ on opponents before matches, according to sources briefed on the matter. Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic had warned against delaying the final, not wanting to see his club become “collateral damage” after they beat Millwall 2-0 on aggregate to reach the final. It is the first time since 2016 that Hull have been in the Championship play-off final, which they won. Southampton finished the league season fourth on 80 points, seven above Hull in sixth. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms