Southampton expelled starts season with four‑point deduction

Southampton Football Club has been expelled from the Championship playoffs and will begin the 2026-27 season with a four-point deduction after admitting to multiple breaches of league rules by spying on opponents' training sessions. The club's manager, Tonda Eckert, has publicly apologized and accepted responsibility for orchestrating the actions, while owner Dragan Solak has confirmed Eckert will retain his position.

An independent disciplinary commission of the English Football League ruled that Southampton had engaged in a "contrived and determined plan from the top down to gain a competitive advantage." The commission found that Eckert authorized the tactics and highlighted the "particularly deplorable" use of junior staff members to conduct clandestine operations. The club admitted to observing training sessions of three opponents: Oxford United in December, Ipswich Town in April, and playoff semifinal opponent Middlesbrough in May.

As a result, Southampton, which had defeated Middlesbrough over two legs in the semifinals, was removed from the competition. Middlesbrough was reinstated and proceeded to the final at Wembley Stadium, where it lost to Hull City. Hull's...