{"id":34016,"date":"2026-05-19T23:49:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/southampton-humiliated-by-spygate-efl-owed-an-apology-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:49:33","slug":"southampton-humiliated-by-spygate-efl-owed-an-apology-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/southampton-humiliated-by-spygate-efl-owed-an-apology-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Southampton humiliated by Spygate, EFL owed an apology | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"zoomEnabled\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/southampton-england-head-coach-tonda-eckert-of-southampton-during-the-sky-bet-championship-6930240.jpg?r=1779218630000\" alt=\"Southampton vs Middlesbrough - Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final second leg\" title=\"Southampton vs Middlesbrough - Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final second leg\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Tonda Eckert&#8217;s Southampton have been expelled from the EFL. <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty)<\/span><span class=\"magnifier\" data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/southampton-england-head-coach-tonda-eckert-of-southampton-during-the-sky-bet-championship-6930240.jpg?r=1779218630000\"\/><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Southampton have been humiliated, damaged the integrity of the Championship season and dragged English football once again into an avoidable farce. Once again, the EFL deserves praise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>By kicking the Saints out of the playoffs over the Spygate scandal, the league finally showed that cheating has consequences. Of course Southampton will appeal. They will protest, argue and argue that the punishment does not fit the crime. But this time, such excuses will fall on deaf ears. Justice has won.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Sarcasm? Had Southampton not decided to send in an intern to spy on their rivals&#8217; training sessions, they probably would have been favorites for promotion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Rather, they are now facing humiliation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The EFL&#8217;s statement was damning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;Southampton have admitted that they breached regulations that require clubs to act in the utmost good faith and prohibit them from observing another club&#8217;s training sessions within 72 hours of a scheduled match.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The breaches related to games against Oxford United in December 2025, Ipswich Town in April 2026 and Middlesbrough earlier this month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>And the most surprising thing of all is that Southampton didn&#8217;t win any of those games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>They lost 2-1 to Oxford. We drew 2-2 with Ipswich. Another draw at Middlesbrough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>But the damage done far exceeds the consequences.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Express sports on FB! Get all the best sports news and more on our Facebook page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Taylor Harwood-Bellis mocked Middlesbrough players with a binoculars gesture after the final whistle. Saints fans arrived in ghillie suits to mock the occasion, laughing off accusations of cheating as if they were some big joke.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Meanwhile, coach Tonda Eckert has not once, but twice, stormed out of press conferences when journalists tried to ask legitimate questions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Southampton&#8217;s spokesperson then made a surprising intervention, telling reporters to &#8220;be respectful&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Southampton are in no position to demand respect from anyone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>This entire story is appallingly handled from start to finish. And there are sure to be serious consequences behind the scenes at St. Mary&#8217;s University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>But Southampton are not the only club to be furious.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"zoomEnabled\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/southampton-england-mocking-southampton-fans-in-camouflage-ghillie-suits-after-their-side-was-6930248.jpg?r=1779218630008\" alt=\"Southampton vs Middlesbrough - Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final second leg\" title=\"Southampton vs Middlesbrough - Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final second leg\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Spygate was a laughing stock on the South Coast, but not anymore. <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty)<\/span><span class=\"magnifier\" data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/1200x712\/secondary\/southampton-england-mocking-southampton-fans-in-camouflage-ghillie-suits-after-their-side-was-6930248.jpg?r=1779218630008\"\/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>If the scandal had been discovered earlier in the season and Southampton had received an immediate points deduction, Ryan Reynolds&#8217; side could have easily made it to the play-offs themselves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Wrexham finished seventh. They are just two points behind Hull and nine points behind Southampton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Now imagine if the Saints had been punished in December after spying on Oxford. Or in April before we played against Ipswich.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The entire table could have changed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The EFL therefore owes Wrexham an apology. Something public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>World Cup Legends: The stars of soccer&#8217;s biggest tournament in history &#8211; buy the special edition now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>And Middlesbrough are not the only club to be asked for answers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>What about the derby? Norwich? Birmingham? Swansea?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>All clubs that fail to qualify have reason to question the validity of their final rankings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>That is the real nightmare facing the EFL.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Taking the plunge against Southampton was the easy part. The mess left behind will be much harder to clean up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>The league is keen to put an end to the chaos if Saturday&#8217;s marquee final goes ahead as scheduled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Southampton&#8217;s appeal ensures there is much more to this story. And the more clubs ask uncomfortable questions, the more pressure will be placed on the EFL.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2207422\/Southampton-Spygate-punishment-Middlesbrough-EFL\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tonda Eckert&#8217;s Southampton have been expelled from the EFL. (Image: Getty) Southampton have been humiliated, damaged the integrity of the Championship season and dragged English football once again into an avoidable farce. Once again, the EFL deserves praise. By kicking the Saints out of the playoffs over the Spygate scandal, the league finally showed that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34016","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Southampton humiliated by Spygate, EFL owed an apology | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/southampton-humiliated-by-spygate-efl-owed-an-apology-soccer-sports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Southampton humiliated by Spygate, EFL owed an apology | Soccer | Sports - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tonda Eckert&#8217;s Southampton have been expelled from the EFL. 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