Southampton have lodged an appeal against their expulsion from the Championship play-off final, arguing that the sanction imposed on them is excessively severe when compared with punishments handed down in similar cases in English football.
An independent disciplinary commission of the English Football League ruled on Tuesday that the Saints should be removed from the play-offs after they admitted to spying on a training session involving semi-final opponents Middlesbrough.
Club chief executive Phil Parsons issued an apology on Wednesday, saying “to the other clubs involved, and most of all to the Southampton supporters”, whom he said “deserved better from the club”.
In their official response, Southampton maintained that they “cannot accept a sanction which bears no proportion to the offence”.
The club further pointed to a precedent involving Leeds United, who were fined £200,000 in 2019 after being found guilty of spying on Derby County, arguing that a similar penalty should apply in their case.
However, the EFL noted that during the Leeds case, Regulation 127, explicitly prohibiting clubs from observing opponents within 72 hours of a match,had not yet been introduced.
The rule was later added following that incident to remove ambiguity in such situations.
As things stand, Middlesbrough have been reinstated into the play-offs and are scheduled to meet Hull City at Wembley on Saturday, with a Premier League place at stake.
Meanwhile, Coventry City and Ipswich Town have already secured automatic promotion.
In addition, Southampton will start next season with a four-point deduction after admitting to multiple breaches involving the “unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training” sessions, according to the EFL’s statement.
The appeal will now be reviewed by an independent league arbitration panel later on Wednesday.
