Breaking News ChampionshIp Play Off Final May Be Postponed
Thursday, 14th May 2026 16:37

Latest newsis not good for Southampton supporters as the EFL announces that the Game between Southampton & Hull City may be postponed due to the ongoing investigation into the spying situation.

BBC Sport is reporting that The Championship play-off final may not go ahead on Saturday 23 May as the English Football League investigates the so called "Spygate" scandal surrounding finalists Southampton.

They say:

"A hearing conducted by an Independent Disciplinary Commission will take place on or before Tuesday 19 May.

"Saints have been charged by the EFL with breaking rules by observing one of Middlesbrough's training sessions before last Saturday's semi-final first leg at the Riverside.

"Southampton are due to face Hull City in the play-off final for a place in the Premier League next season.

"Although the EFL has warned supporters there could be changes to the fixture, they are working on the basis that the final will go ahead as planned, with a kick-off time of 16:30 BST.

"Should the match need to be rescheduled due to the outcome of the hearing and any subsequent appeal process, the EFL says it has a "number of contingency plans" available.

"The Championship fixture is the first of three play-off finals held across three days at Wembley, with the League One and Two versions due to be held on the Sunday and Monday, respectively.

"The stadium is booked out the following weekend, when the Rugby League Challenge Cup final will be played on 30 May and the Women's FA Cup final on 31 May.

£A major music event takes place at the stadium on the following weekend on Saturday 6 June.

This is breaking news and more information is to follow;

UPDATE

In a statement, the EFL said:

" As the proceedings are being conducted by an Independent Disciplinary Commission, the EFL does not control the proposed timetable.

"Notwithstanding this, the EFL continues to plan on the basis that the Championship play-off final will take place as scheduled on Saturday May 23, with the kick-off time confirmed as 4.30pm.

"Supporters should, however, be aware that the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings may yet result in changes to the fixture. The EFL has a number of contingency plans should they be required, which also includes consideration of any appeal process, if required."

All Photos Via Reuters

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WestSussexSaint added 17:17 - May 14 This is turning into a complete shambles. No one is looking good here - Saints for the act, Boro for fanning the flames in the court of public opinion and the EFL for not having a clear set of sanctions for this breach in the regulations.
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highfield49 added 17:45 - May 14

I'm optimistic that the IDC will be wary of opening too big a can of worms. If the evidence proves that an offence has been committed then a recommendation for a fine and a warning about any subsequent proven transgressions would be pragmatic.
I'd also hope that the EFL take it upon themselves to revise their sanctions policy, stipulating precisely what penalties are imposed if this rule is transgressed. They've made a rod for their own backs leaving the options open and inviting an inevitable appeal if the punishment doesn't fit the supposed offence.
I still don't understand why this becomes an offence only within three days of a match, the logic is strange.

wessexman added 17:49 - May 14 The final is a £ 200 M game. Boro should have been out of sight in the first half at the Riverside. But....they weren't. Expect this to get nasty. The bottom line is we were caught and there have to be consequences. Let us forget the crocodile tears and the murdered innocence complexes. This is now all down to hard cash....as always in football
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wessexman added 17:50 - May 14 The final is a £ 200 M game. Boro should have been out of sight in the first half at the Riverside. But....they weren't. Expect this to get nasty. The bottom line is we were caught and there have to be consequences. Let us forget the crocodile tears and the murdered innocence complexes. This is now all down to hard cash....as always in football
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wessexman added 17:50 - May 14 The final is a £ 200 M game. Boro should have been out of sight in the first half at the Riverside. But....they weren't. Expect this to get nasty. The bottom line is we were caught and there have to be consequences. Let us forget the crocodile tears and the murdered innocence complexes. This is now all down to hard cash....as always in football
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wessexman added 17:50 - May 14 The final is a £ 200 M game. Boro should have been out of sight in the first half at the Riverside. But....they weren't. Expect this to get nasty. The bottom line is we were caught and there have to be consequences. Let us forget the crocodile tears and the murdered innocence complexes. This is now all down to hard cash....as always in football
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Jesus_02 added 18:12 - May 14

Wycombe finished 22nd in the Championship in the 2020-21 season, one point behind 21st-placed Derby County, and were relegated to League One. They appealed that Derbys football sanction should be imediate . The EFL refused and Wycombe lost the appeal.

Derby had stacks for PRS breaches and also tried to cook the books. Which is more impactful that or young Mr Salt and his iPhone.

So why the rush? Footballing sanctions are mainly applied the following season , with the exeption of going into admin. In fact the last non finacial sanctions applied in the same season was Boro in 96/97 for not fullfilling a fixture.

So why the rush? Well Steve Gibons has hired the big guns, is on the EFL board making the recomendations and the decision seems to be made regardless of the independent commision

SanMarco added 23:53 - May 14

If the inquiry is really independent then I would be surprised if we get more than a big fine. Unless there is a lot of hard evidence that it was a club-wide thing and went on a lot (even if it did M'bor don't know any of that - how could they?) . My fear is that M'boro's behaviour, which has been totally disgraceful from the start, will influence things. It has been a typical reality TV style circus right from the start. We've had tears, media trolling, talking heads talking out of their rses and Trump-like behaviour from this Gibbon monstrosity.

What we haven't had is a sense of proportion or any respect for the actual process of an inquiry which is intended to find out the facts. The loud-mouthed M'boro mob know that some idiot was at their training ground behind a tree with some equipment. All the rest is pure invention, most obviously the idea that said idiot's behaviour made any difference at all to the result. We beat them fair and square and they are out and they should stay out. If the authorities wish to throw us out then it will end up in court - if we lose that then Hull should get the bye and M'boro should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute. If M'boro end up playing in the final it will be a TOTAL TRAVESTY.

Most important of all - although Saints have chosen not to play the PR game and have maintained some dignity, that will count for nothing if our lawyers don't know what they are doing. I hope they do. Then we can sack the idiot(s) involved and get ready for Hull.

YosemiteSaint added 00:26 - May 15

We all see how this will play out, right? If we're banned from the final, and/or if we're docked points, our best players' departures are all but confirmed and Eckert will scarper off to the Bundesliga unscathed to a vastly superior job. (If this was his idea, he has to go—the further away the better.) We the fans have the most to lose here, and i don't take the prospect of being branded a villain lightly. My thirty-six years of Saints fandom may be set to take the greatest hit yet.

ReturnOfThe added 08:04 - May 15 I couldn’t agree more with YosemiteSaint, it is we the supporters who have been cheated the most. Everyone who has put time, effort & money supporting the club this season has been completely swindled. I will always support the players on the pitch, have written to the club to express my dissatisfaction.
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