Southampton have been ejected from the Championship play-off final by the English Football League (EFL) over a spying scandal.
Tonda Eckert’s side beat Middlesbrough in extra time to set up a meeting with Hull City at Wembley, but will no longer play for a place in the Premier League.
The club were charged with spying 48 hours before the first leg of that play-off semi-final after an incident at Middlesbrough’s training ground at Rockliffe Hall.
It was alleged that a member of the Southampton staff was caught by in person and on CCTV, and reported to the EFL. The south-coast club did not immediately deny the allegation subsequently said that they were also conducting an internal review and asked for more time to conclude their enquiries.
An independent disciplinary committee convened by the EFL has now kicked Southampton out of the play-off final, with Middlesbrough given a reprieve and set to face Hull on Saturday 23 May.
The winner will join Coventry and Ipswich in earning promotion to the Premier League next season. There is no change to the scheduling of that game.
Southampton have also received a four-point deduction, which will be applied in next season’s Championship.
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