Southampton were knocked out of Saturday’s Championship final and picked up four points for the 2026-27 season after admitting they scouted three different rivals during the season.
The extraordinary Spygate row that has engulfed the EFL has yet to reach a definitive conclusion as Southampton are understood to be ready to pass the punishment they were handed after admitting they had not only scouted semi-final opponents Middlesbrough but Ipswich Town and Oxford United during the season.
According to that appeal, the situation that should be resolved on Wednesday, May 20, is Middlesbrough who will replace Southampton in the final at Wembley, against Hull City for a prize of almost 300 million for promotion to the Premier League.
Given their imminent appeal, Southampton are expected to argue that the punishment handed down by the independent disciplinary commission is too harsh. The EFL said they and other parties involved were “working to try and resolve any grievances by Wednesday 20 May”. That result “could lead to another change in Saturday’s game,” the richest game in the game which has the chance to join Coventry City and Ipswich in the Premier League next season.
Meanwhile, it’s Middlesbrough who will face Hull City for the prize on the line. Boro’s players returned to training on May 18, six days after what appeared to be their relegation, and will now be favorites to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017. The club welcomed their involvement in the final in a statement, saying: “We believe this sends a clear message to the future of our game in terms of integrity and sportsmanship. As a club, our game and our City game is against Hull now.”
Boro made a formal complaint to the EFL on May 7, saying they saw a member of Southampton’s staff at their training ground three days after the first leg of the semi-final. Then footage emerged the following week showing the commentator with his phone, appearing to record the Middlesbrough session, questioning Tonda Eckert’s side’s 2-1 win on aggregate.
Eckert’s record at Southampton will now be scrutinized, with the first spying case being admitted less than two months after he took the job following Will Still’s sacking. At the time of his appointment, Saints were 21st in the Championship and only three points separated them from the relegation zone. The 72 points Southampton won under Eckert were five more than any team in the English second division during the same period, enough to secure them fourth place in the division.
In the three games Southampton admitted to being scouts earlier, they did not win a single one, losing at Oxford and drawing against Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough. The inevitable consequence of admitting a breach of the rules that require clubs to “act in good faith” is to bring questions about what other rivals may have been watching training sessions at Southampton.
