Southampton Football Club was kicked out of the Championship play-offs for spying on the training sessions of its rivals.
The English Football League (EFL) penalised Saints – who had made it to the final of the competition – for filming sessions involving three of its opponents.
But who is responsible for policing misconduct in football, and what powers do the sport’s governing bodies actually have?
As the Football Association (FA) launches its own investigation into the Southampton case, here is how football’s disciplinary system works.
What did Southampton Football Club do?
An analyst for Southampton FC was spotted hiding behind a tree and filming a Middlesbrough FC training session two days before the clubs went head-to-head in a Championship play-off tie.
When members of staff at Middlesbrough confronted the man, he fled to a nearby golf club and changed his clothes before leaving the area.
Middlesbrough then reported the incident to the English Football League, which launched an investigation.
Southampton admitted filming the training session, as well as sessions involving Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April.
On Tuesday, an independent EFL disciplinary commission expelled Southampton from the play-offs and handed the club a four-point deduction for next season.
The commission also reinstated Middlesbrough, who had lost 2-1 to Saints on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Southampton described the punishment as an “extremely disappointing outcome” but said it was “clear that trust now needs to be rebuilt”.
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What are the rules?
Rules specifically banning clubs from observing opponents’ training sessions were introduced by the EFL in 2019 after Leeds United were fined £200,000 for sending a staff member to watch a Derby County training session.
Until then, there had been no regulation explicitly preventing clubs from observing opponents before matches.
The EFL introduced Regulation 127, which prohibits clubs from observing or attempting to observe another team’s training session within 72 hours of a fixture between the sides.
Southampton also admitted breaching Regulation 3.4, which requires clubs to act towards each other with the “utmost good faith”.
There was no previous case under the current rules, meaning there was little precedent for what punishment Southampton could face.
Who enforces the rules?
The EFL governs the Championship, League One and League Two, and is responsible for enforcing regulations involving clubs competing in those divisions.
Serious disciplinary cases can be referred to independent commissions, which have powers to sanction clubs with fines, points deductions, transfer embargoes, suspensions and expulsions from competitions.
Southampton’s appeal against its punishment was heard by a separate League Arbitration Panel, which upheld the original sanctions.
While the EFL can punish clubs, the FA can also investigate individuals involved in misconduct.
The FA confirmed on Thursday it had opened its own investigation into the Southampton case.
BBC South sports editor Lewis Coombes said that could lead to further action against individuals including the manager, analysts or head of football.
“They could be charged by the FA and face potential fines or bans,” he said.
What other offences can lead to clubs being punished?
Football clubs can face sanctions for a wide range of breaches.
In recent seasons, Everton and Nottingham Forest were handed Premier League points deductions for breaching profitability and sustainability rules.
Meanwhile, clubs across English football have faced fines, transfer embargoes and deductions for offences including failing to pay wages and breaching financial regulations.
Football authorities can also sanction clubs over supporter behaviour, including racist or discriminatory abuse and pitch invasions.
Different competitions are overseen by different governing bodies, including the EFL, the Premier League, the FA, Uefa and, for international football, Fifa.
At the 2024 Olympic Games, the Canada women’s team were deducted six points by Fifa after a drone was used to observe a training session held by New Zealand women’s national football team.
Canada head coach Bev Priestman and two other members of staff were also banned from football for a year.
But while football authorities regularly punish clubs for financial breaches, crowd trouble and misconduct, the scale of Southampton’s punishment is highly unusual.
Southampton FC historian Duncan Holley described the saga as “the darkest week in our 141-year history”.