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EFL Playoffs 25/26 (Saints booted out of final and given 4 point deduction - pg34)
Comments
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Should have added a £1m fine to the Southampton charge and told them it's payable to Boro for coaches to get their fans downFortune 82nd Minute said:
So Boro are seriously going to try and sell 40,000 tickets in 2 days? It's bonkers and I would suggest totally unachievable without huge problems.PrincessFiona said:https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/2026/may/20/ticket-details-for-sky-bet-championship-play-off-final/
Boro selling tickets for the final from 1pm today. Time is of the essence, but the outcome of the appeal hasn't been announced yet
https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/sky-bet-championship-play-off-final-tickets-available-to-all-members
The Sinners one showing a 404 error
On the tickets tab, it saysPlease note that the Ticket Office will be closed on Wednesday 20th May.
I can only remember too well the trouble I had trying to book some hospitality packages at Wembley last year. Really good luck in trying to get Wembley to respond to requests in this time frame.
And how are Boro fans going to get to Wembley? There are engineering works on LNER, meaning a replacement bus service is in place for some of the journey. Fancy taking the coach? Well, you can't just magic up hundreds of coaches at 2 days notice.
And all this only necessary if Southampton's appeal fails.
What an absolute shower of s*** this all is.12 -
Fortune 82nd Minute said:
So Boro are seriously going to try and sell 40,000 tickets in 2 days? It's bonkers and I would suggest totally unachievable without huge problems.PrincessFiona said:https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/2026/may/20/ticket-details-for-sky-bet-championship-play-off-final/
Boro selling tickets for the final from 1pm today. Time is of the essence, but the outcome of the appeal hasn't been announced yet
https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/sky-bet-championship-play-off-final-tickets-available-to-all-members
The Sinners one showing a 404 error
On the tickets tab, it saysPlease note that the Ticket Office will be closed on Wednesday 20th May.
I can only remember too well the trouble I had trying to book some hospitality packages at Wembley last year. Really good luck in trying to get Wembley to respond to requests in this time frame.
And how are Boro fans going to get to Wembley? There are engineering works on LNER, meaning a replacement bus service is in place for some of the journey. Fancy taking the coach? Well, you can't just magic up hundreds of coaches at 2 days notice.
And all this only necessary if Southampton's appeal fails.
What an absolute shower of s*** this all is.
Yep and all caused by Southampton cheating. No excuses - they didnt do it, none of this would be happening. Ergo - it is all their fault.
4 point deduction is nowhere near strong enough. 20 points please.18 -
So many issues with all this. Personally have no problem with Southampton being kicked out but equally bizarre for Boro to be put back in.
The best way to solve this withput compromising sporting integrity in my expert and humble opinion, would be to simply cancel playoff and just promote Hull. Though wont happen as the league wants their money and integrity be damned.6 -
I doubt you'd be making that argument if Millwall had beaten HullRadostanradical said:So many issues with all this. Personally have no problem with Southampton being kicked out but equally bizarre for Boro to be put back in.
The best way to solve this withput compromising sporting integrity in my expert and humble opinion, would be to simply cancel playoff and just promote Hull. Though wont happen as the league wants their money and integrity be damned.
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The EFL has broadcast deals that would be in serious trouble without the Championship Play off final, which then affects us, so it has to happen8
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Along with the League Cup final this is the EFL's money spinner so there is no way they'll cancel it and if Wembley does become unavailable the only places that could realistically stage it are Old Trafford and the Principality. Have said from day one this is one serious mess they won't be able to handle.2
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Cheating got them to the play final. Explosion from that final seems fair to me.
they gained 60 points under that manager, it’s a reasonable to assume they spied on other teams that they haven’t admitted yet, therefore all 60 points should be deducted from next seasons total.
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The biggest shock is that the hitherto glacially slow and terminally complacent EFL got off its fat arse and did its actual job. They've barely taken cheating seriously before now.
Season that with also getting the decision and punishment right and we truly have a red letter day.
The points deduction is very smart thinking.
Depending on how saints word their appeal, EFL could suspend a couple of the points deducted for a couple of years "requiring exemplary behaviour", because they pleaded guilty.
If saints get their appeal all wrong what's the chances they get extra points deducted for a specious appeal?
If they'd fielded an ineligible player there would be no argument and that would only be an administrative blunder, not premeditated rule breaking.
Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of fans either. Sit darn shut up! As the cupboard end might say.
Will be greeting the bleating ninnies with the binoculars mime when they drag their baggy arses to SE7 next term.
ROFLMAO0 -
Hospitality might be an issue but I think we could have shifted our general release tickets in 2 days pretty easily last year with the right tieringFortune 82nd Minute said:
So Boro are seriously going to try and sell 40,000 tickets in 2 days? It's bonkers and I would suggest totally unachievable without huge problems.PrincessFiona said:https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/2026/may/20/ticket-details-for-sky-bet-championship-play-off-final/
Boro selling tickets for the final from 1pm today. Time is of the essence, but the outcome of the appeal hasn't been announced yet
https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/sky-bet-championship-play-off-final-tickets-available-to-all-members
The Sinners one showing a 404 error
On the tickets tab, it saysPlease note that the Ticket Office will be closed on Wednesday 20th May.
I can only remember too well the trouble I had trying to book some hospitality packages at Wembley last year. Really good luck in trying to get Wembley to respond to requests in this time frame.
And how are Boro fans going to get to Wembley? There are engineering works on LNER, meaning a replacement bus service is in place for some of the journey. Fancy taking the coach? Well, you can't just magic up hundreds of coaches at 2 days notice.
And all this only necessary if Southampton's appeal fails.
What an absolute shower of s*** this all is.2 -
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"dead-eyed reptilian charmlessness" nicely putHenry Irving said:
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They did it against Oxford so did it against other teams we don't yet know about.
If they did it for more than half the season and so played everyone - there has to be grounds for relegation. The EFL have set a precedent with competition removal and the -4 for 3 cases.
I don't really see how the final can go ahead. I think it'll have to be treated like a weather postponement.1 -
Thankfully a sophies choice that hasnt been placed on mekillerandflash said:
I doubt you'd be making that argument if Millwall had beaten HullRadostanradical said:So many issues with all this. Personally have no problem with Southampton being kicked out but equally bizarre for Boro to be put back in.
The best way to solve this withput compromising sporting integrity in my expert and humble opinion, would be to simply cancel playoff and just promote Hull. Though wont happen as the league wants their money and integrity be damned.1 -
Hopefully the appeal results in an even bigger points deduction. The lack of self-awareness from Southampton is astonishingDyerConsequences said:Southampton: Punishment is manifestly disproportionate:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn4p284ny2ko13 -
Let hope the patsy does no get hung up to dry for this. Southampton FC guilty without a doubt, who knowsHenry Irving said:
how far down the food chain it went.0 -
Bet they get reinstated1
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The fact they did it to a team with pretty much the lowest budget and maybe the lesser players and didn’t apparently do it again for quite a while doesn’t quite ring true for me.RedPanda said:They did it against Oxford so did it against other teams we don't yet know about.
If they did it for more than half the season and so played everyone - there has to be grounds for relegation. The EFL have set a precedent with competition removal and the -4 for 3 cases.
I don't really see how the final can go ahead. I think it'll have to be treated like a weather postponement.
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Flynn Downes interviewing a few months ago talking about their 1-5 victory at the Valley…
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Let Southampton play in the final ,if they win it the 200 million payment for promotion.Should be spilt between Millwall,Hull and Boro with Boro recieving higher percentage.If they fail to win -20points next season2
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Correct decision by the powers that be for a change. Cheats should never prosper in sport.
However, I have an awful feeling they will bottle it & reinstate them on appeal.
Hope I'm wrong
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I agree with Southampton that kicking them out of the play offs was disproportionate for spying against Boro.
Let's take that incident in isolation, I would say that a better punishment is simply to forfeit that game 3-0 and for any other spying infringements during the season which they have admitted to, to get a points deduction of say 2 points a game applied next season.
If that was done then the record books would say Southampton lost the semi final and get a 4- point deduction next season. Feels more proportional.
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If you supported Southampton you’d expect the club to appeal against allMrBurns said:
Hopefully the appeal results in an even bigger points deduction. The lack of self-awareness from Southampton is astonishingDyerConsequences said:Southampton: Punishment is manifestly disproportionate:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cn4p284ny2ko
the odds. They have little more to lose after all. It’s just the process I suspect.
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Not sure when the appeal result will be told but I have a feeling all they will get is the 4 points reinstated.1
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It seems to me the rule is quite clear if not the punishment. In terms of the playoffs I don’t see how their expulsion can sensibly be overturned, they were caught cheating and disqualified, what other punishment could possibly be handed out instead? Presumably they cheated in order to give themselves an advantage to win a playoff semi final and get the opportunity to compete in the final. If they didn’t feel that this form of cheating gave them that advantage then why did they do it, just for shits and giggles and to give everyone an entertaining news story?
In terms of the cheating before the playoffs there is a precedent for this in other sports. If an athlete is caught doping their results are scratched right back to the positive test which in the case of Southampton would be the game against Oxford in December. Some people might argue that spying on training is not as serious as doping, but both are cheating and are based on winning by marginal gains. Tadej Pogacar Lance Armstrong wasn’t just a bloke plucked out of his local Wetherspoons he was already a very good cyclist that gained a competitive advantage by him and his team mates cheating. If cheating doesn’t have penalties that relate to the competition being played then what is the point of having such rules.2 -
I feel for Hull in all this. 3 days before the final & they still have no idea who they're playing
Such a bizarre situation, which is putting the team already in the final at a disadvantage.
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The longer we don't hear back from the appeal board the more concerned I get. It should be straightforward1
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I think they only convened at 6pm - give them a chance to have a cup of tea and some fancy biscuits before they crack on. They've probably already done a day's work.Arsenetatters said:The longer we don't hear back from the appeal board the more concerned I get. It should be straightforward7 -
Hopefully the appeals board haven't stopped laughing at the audacity of an appeal, rejected it, and increased it to 12 points6
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Why are you concerned it’s not going to affect us in any way.Arsenetatters said:The longer we don't hear back from the appeal board the more concerned I get. It should be straightforward1 -
IdleHans said:
I think they only convened at 6pm - give them a chance to have a cup of tea and some fancy biscuits before they crack on. They've probably already done a day's work.Arsenetatters said:The longer we don't hear back from the appeal board the more concerned I get. It should be straightforward
And another thing - I'm getting a bit pissed off with Hull saying they'll appeal if they lose. They've got their place in the final, none of this imho is Boro's fault so they should keep out of it.7
