Officially: Southampton Excluded from Premier League Playoff Final After "Spying" Incident
The English Football League (EFL) announced on Tuesday a disciplinary decision to disqualify Southampton FC from the Premier League promotion play-offs. The club has also been handed a four-point deduction, to be applied to their Championship tally for the 2026/2027 season.
This decision follows investigations conducted by an independent disciplinary committee, during which the club admitted to committing several violations of EFL regulations. These violations involved filming the training sessions of rival clubs without permission, an act deemed a breach of sporting integrity rules and pre-match conduct regulations.
Consequently, Middlesbrough FC has been reinstated into the play-offs, replacing Southampton. Middlesbrough will now face Hull City in the final match next Saturday, with the kick-off time to be determined later.
The committee clarified that the admitted violations by Southampton included incidents related to matches against Oxford United in December 2025, Ipswich Town in April 2026, and Middlesbrough in May 2026.
The sanctions also include an official reprimand for the club, in addition to the play-off disqualification and the points deduction set to be applied next season.
