Southampton disqualified from the EFL Championship promotion play-offs final after "spygate" allegations have been substantiated..

The English Football League (EFL) announced on its official website on Tuesday that Southampton's "spygate" allegations have been substantiated, resulting in their immediate disqualification from the EFL Championship promotion play-offs final.

According to the EFL's official statement, the Ethics and Disciplinary Committee found and confirmed that Southampton admitted that they have violated the English Football Association (FA)'s which prohibit scouts or analysts from observing opponents 72 hours before a match, an act that breached fair play principles.

Southampton also admitted to having similar violations before matches against Oxford United (December 2025) and Ipswich Town (April 2026), in addition to this illegal spying incident on Middlesbrough on May 26.

Given the seriousness of the offenses, the EFL has decided to disqualify Southampton from the EFL Championship promotion play-offs final.

The Saints will also be administratively deducted four points in the 2026/27 EFL Championship season.

The EFL will also discuss further penalties for Southampton with Oxford United, Ipswich Town, and other member clubs whose interests are at stake, and will announce the results as soon as possible.

As compensation, Middlesbrough will replace Southampton as the other participating club in this year's promotion play-offs final.

This highly anticipated annual tournament, touted as having the highest prize money in football history, will be moved to Wembley Stadium this Saturday (May 23, 2026) UK time; the kickoff time is yet to be determined.

Southampton's "spygate" was initially exclusively revealed by The Telegraph.

According to the original report, after receiving a tip from Middlesbrough officials, the newspaper's journalists discovered a suspicious man lurking under a tree near the fence of the club's training ground, Rockliffe Park.

At the time, the man was repeatedly using his mobile phone to take photos and videos of Middlesbrough players' training sessions and pre-match meetings, and even jotting down the team's tactical plans in a notebook.

When the time was right, the journalists confronted the man and discovered that he was William Salt, a data analyst outsourced to Southampton.

Furthermore, he was also a personal aide to Southampton manager Tonda Eckert's team, which immediately made Salt's identity even more suspicious.

Subsequent investigations revealed that Salt had engaged in this "spying" activity multiple times prior to the two teams' match last week, with the total time spent spying exceeding 48 hours, this is a serious violation of the FA rule which prohibit scouts or analysts from observing opponents 72 hours before a match.

Southampton later defeated Southampton 2-1 in extra time in the second leg at St. Mary's Stadium on Wednesday (May 13th) to reach the final.

In the post-match press conference, Middlesbrough manager Kim Helberg called the result "the most unacceptable and heartbreaking" of his managerial career. He also condemned Southampton's actions as utterly shameful.

On May 15th, the FA announced that it had launched an investigation into Southampton and was considering disqualifying them from the EFL Championship promotion play-off final.

At the time, several British media outlets widely speculate that if Southampton are definitively disqualified, Middlesbrough may be awarded a place in the final.

Another possibility is that Hull City, having already secured a place in the final, will be directly awarded the promotion playoffs title, but this is unlikely.

It's worth noting that this was only the second time in Championship history that a "spy scandal" had surfaced.

It's worth mentioning that this is actually only the second time in EFL Championship history that a "spygate" controversy has occurred.

In 2019, Leeds United were also fined £20,000 for using the same methods to spy on every opponent throughout the season.

Even worse, then-manager Marcelo Bielsa brazenly questioned reporters about the inappropriateness of such a "normal" approach.

Image source: Internet / The Telegraph