UPDATED: Southampton Facing Points Deduction “

All ticket info as been suspended by efl! Decision expected on fri/sat ......3 other clubs Bristol Norwich milwall claim they were spied on by saints? Hull should be promoted automatically! if boro in final and win it will be said by default they were well beaten other day

I still fail to understand why you would have a training session in an open field & then complain about it when someone watches it. If you don't want anyone watching then have it somewhere that the public can't easily access rather than cry about it after someone does.

Hull City are preparing for the possibility of the Championship Playoff Final being moved to a later date in the wake of 'Spygate'.

An independent commission is reviewing evidence that Hull's opponents Southampton sent analyst Will Salt to secretly film a Middlesbrough training session ahead of the semi-final.

If the commission decide Saints are guilty they could be subject to sporting sanctions including being expelled from the Playoffs.

This would almost certainly lead to a legal challenge threatening to delay the May 23 final.

Boro players returned to their training ground today in case they are reinstated

Championship Play-Off Final date could be moved:


The Championship play-off final may not go ahead on Saturday 23 May as the English Football League (EFL) investigates the Spygate scandal surrounding finalists Southampton.

A hearing conducted by an Independent Disciplinary Commission will take place on or before Tuesday 19 May.

Saints have been charged by the EFL with breaking rules by observing one of Middlesbrough's training sessions before last Saturday's semi-final first leg at the Riverside.

Southampton are due to face Hull City in the play-off final for a place in the Premier League next season.

The EFL is working on the basis that the final will go ahead as planned, with a kick-off time of 16:30 BST, but has said "supporters should be aware that the outcome of disciplinary proceedings may yet result in changes to the fixture".

I’m not sure they should face a harsher penalty than Leeds . It would also be interesting to know (although we never will) how widespread this is.

When Leeds did it it wasn’t against the rules just unsporting.

Rule was introduced following that so if found guilty Southampton will have clearly broken the rules which is cheating so think Boro should have their place.

Unfair on Hull as both teams are preparing to face them whilst they’re having to split time between both. Also unfair on fans planning travel

Unfair on Hull as both teams are preparing to face them whilst they’re having to split time between both. Also unfair on fans planning travel

That's a really good point and not one I'd thought of.

EFL could be in a right mess because if Southampton are thrown out then Hull have legitimate grounds to request more time to prepare as it's a different opponent.

I still fail to understand why you would have a training session in an open field & then complain about it when someone watches it. If you don't want anyone watching then have it somewhere that the public can't easily access rather than cry about it after someone does.

Spot On .

The independent disciplinary panel looking into Southampton’s alleged’spygate’ violation will propose a harsh six-point sanction. Following Middlesbrough’s formal accusation of training ground espionage, the team faces huge EFL punishments only days before their vital Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium, which determines Premier League promotion

So they still would be in the play offs

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I still fail to understand why you would have a training session in an open field & then complain about it when someone watches it. If you don't want anyone watching then have it somewhere that the public can't easily access rather than cry about it after someone does.

Agreed. Mountain over a molehill for me. £200k fine and get on with it.

Middlesbrough have called for Southampton to be removed from the Championship play-off final, describing their exclusion as “the only appropriate response” to the alleged spying incident

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