Club say expulsion from playoffs is ‘disproportionate’Chief executive apologies to fans for doing ‘wrong’Southampton have described the decision to expel them from the Championship playoffs over the ‘Spygate’ scandal as “manifestly disproportionate” to any other sanction handed down in the history of the English game.An independent commission imposed the penalty – which includes the docking of four points for next season – after the club admitted three spying charges, including one related to observing a training session of playoff semi-final opponents Middlesbrough earlier this month. The commission also reinstated Boro for Saturday’s final, denying Southampton the chance of a shot at promotion to the Premier League worth an estimated £200m. Continue reading...

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/20/southampton-middlesbrough-championship-playoffs-spygate