Southampton expelled from play-offs for spying on Middlesbrough

Southampton expelled from play-offs for spying on Middlesbrough

By Dale Johnson, Football issues correspondent

Published 19 May 2026, 18:48 BST

Southampton have been officially expelled from the Championship play-offs due to allegations of spying on Middlesbrough prior to the initial leg of their semi-final match.

In addition to their removal from the play-offs, the club has faced a deduction of four points for the 2026-27 Championship season.

Middlesbrough, who were previously defeated by Southampton in the semi-finals, have now been reinstated and will compete against Hull City for an opportunity to secure a position in the Premier League.

The championship final is scheduled to take place on Saturday at Wembley, with the exact kickoff time yet to be announced.

Southampton acknowledged "multiple breaches of EFL regulations pertaining to the unauthorized filming of training sessions conducted by other clubs," as stated by the EFL.

The club has also received a formal reprimand regarding all associated charges.

What did Southampton do?

The incidents occurred on Thursday morning, 7 May.

Middlesbrough were conducting their training at the Rockliffe Park facility, preparing for their match against Southampton in 48 hours.

According to reports, a Southampton analyst positioned himself near the training area after parking at a nearby golf club, walking a short distance to a vantage point.

Sources informed the BBC that the individual was observed pointing his mobile device at the training session while wearing in-ear headphones.

Middlesbrough staff speculated that the analyst might have been live-streaming the practice session through a video call.

When approached by a member of Middlesbrough's staff, the analyst allegedly refused to identify himself and promptly deleted content from his phone before fleeing to the golf club.

He reportedly changed clothes in the golf club's restrooms and then exited the premises in haste.

Middlesbrough's photographer captured images of the individual and recognized him from a photograph on Southampton's official website. One of these images was subsequently shared publicly last week.

Middlesbrough reacted swiftly, expressing their outrage, and reported the incident to the EFL.

The EFL subsequently charged Southampton for violating two specific regulations:

EFL Regulation 3.4, which mandates that clubs must interact with one another with the highest level of good faith; and

EFL Regulation 127, which explicitly forbids any club from observing or attempting to observe another team’s training session within 72 hours prior to a scheduled match between the two clubs.