Southampton will now miss out on a game dubbed the richest in world football, with the winners of the play-off final guaranteed a minimum £110m in Premier League broadcast revenue.

What rules did Southampton break?

The EFL charged Saints with breaking two regulations.

• EFL Regulation 3.4, which requires clubs to act towards each other with the utmost good faith; and
• EFL Regulation 127, which prohibits any club from observing, or attempting to observe, another club's training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match between the two clubs

Southampton admitted to "multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs' training", the EFL said.

Club statement

On Wednesday afternoon, Phil Parsons, chief executive at Southampton FC said in a statement: "What happened was wrong. The club has admitted breaches of EFL Regulations 3.4 and 127.

"We are sorry to the other clubs involved, and most of all to the Southampton supporters whose extraordinary loyalty and support this season deserved better from the club.

"We have provided our full co-operation to the EFL's investigation and disciplinary process.

"We believe the financial consequence of yesterday's ruling makes it, by a very considerable distance, the largest penalty ever imposed on an English football club."

Fans reaction

Fans have been reacting to the news since Wednesday morning.

"The fans are suffering because of their stupidity," said Mike Ross, one of the many Saints fans across the city struggling to digest the news.

"They should have known the rules and regulations like everyone else does," he added.

Margaret Holmes added that she "can't understand why they did it" stating that Southampton is "a good team" that had been doing well.

"They didn't need to do that," she said.

What next?

The decision is final and there is no further right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Middlesbrough, beaten by Southampton in the semi-final, were reinstated and will now play Hull City on Saturday (15:30 BST kick-off) with a place in the Premier League on the line.

Hull, meanwhile, are unhappy they will have to face different opponents at short notice, with owner Acun Ilicali suggesting the club could take legal action if they lose the final.

The FA will look into who participated in the spying, assessing the culpability of those who encouraged it or knew it was happening.

The English Football League, which brought the charges against Southampton, can only take action against its member clubs.

With the FA now looking into the matter the individuals involved could face charges, and potential bans.

At the 2024 Olympics, Canada's women's team were found guilty of spying on New Zealand.

World governing body Fifa banned three members of staff - including the head coach Bev Priestman - from football for a year.

Boro fans have joined long queues at the Riverside Stadium for tickets ahead of their trip to Wembley on Saturday.

The game against Hull kicks off at 15:30 BST.

Southampton has said it will let fans know about refunds for their tickets as soon as possible.

Sophie Law
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

The BBC has contacted all of Southampton’s main brand partners for comment and whether they’re reconsidering their partnerships.

So far, Puma has declined to comment and Lucozade said it would only comment after the appeal, which concluded late last night.

We will bring you any responses we get today.

The Football Association has confirmed it will now look into the whole Spygate episode which could lead to its own actions and punishments.

A spokesperson said: "We will now investigate, and won’t comment further until we have assessed the evidence."

Image source, Richard Shelley

Lifelong Saints fan Richard Shelley has said he is not sure whether he and his wife will renew their season tickets next year.

He says until the fans "are happy that the people who have tarnished our club's name are removed, you won't be able to move forward".

He said: "They have no place in our football club and I'm not sure they have a place in football."

He added that a lot of work needs to be done very quickly by the club to win fans back around.

Image source, Getty Images

The integrity of Southampton Football Club has been tarnished and will "take a long time to come back", says former Saints and Hull Manager Nigel Adkins.

Adkins led the Saints to the Premier League after back-to-back promotions in the early 2010s.

He said he could not understand why the club decided to spy on training sessions, believing there was very little that could have been gained from it and a lot at stake.

He said: "The rules come in for a reason so abide by the rules."

He feels for the supporters of all of the clubs involved, adding that promotion for Southampton will be more challenging next season.

"It can be really difficult once you come down from the Premier League to be able to get back again. Your best chance is at your first opportunity."

Southampton Football Club historian Duncan Holley has called the events of the past few days "the darkest week in our 141-year history".

He discussed how the fallout is going to impact the fans next season and in the long run, telling BBC Radio Solent everyone on social media is kicking Southampton while they are down.

"The fans stay with the club throughout their lives, whereas the people who work for the club come and go, and it's going to be the fans that take the brunt of everything," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Other

BBC Radio Solent's Southampton FC commentator Adam Blackmore said supporters are overwhelmingly calling for anyone involved in the scandal to be gone from the football club.

"You cannot rebuild a culture with the same people who smashed the culture in place," he said.

He thinks more details about exactly who was involved will come out when the findings of the independent commission and the appeal are released.

Blackmore said he felt sympathy for William Salt, who was tasked with filming Middlesbrough's training session and has become the "poster boy of a football act that has embarrassed a whole football club and its fanbase and that wasn't his fault", adding that he would have been authorised to do the filming.

He added: "I think there is no doubt in my mind that there will be a chain of people from near the top of the footballing operation, down to the intern at the edge of a tree, who would know what was going on."

For any Saints fans who had their trains to London booked for Saturday, this is the advice from South Western Railway...

"If you need to apply for a refund or amend your ticket, you must do this before the date your ticket is valid for travel. For more details, visit our refunds page here, external."

Image source, Getty Images

Here's a reminder of the events of the past few weeks which have culminated in Southampton being thrown out of the Championship play-off final.

Southampton's appeal against being thrown out of the Championship play-off final for spying was rejected on Wednesday night.

They will also still have a four-point deduction at the start of next season.

The club called it "an extremely disappointing outcome" and stood by its belief that the punishment was "disproportionate" to the crime.

It thanked fans for their support and said it will release information about refunds as soon as possible.

Adding: "While tonight is a painful moment, this football club will respond with humility, accountability and determination to put things right."

The play-off final will now go ahead on Saturday between Hull City and Middlesbrough (15:30 BST kick-off), with a place in the Premier League on the line.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, getty

Southampton midfielder Kuryu Matsuki, who made 20 league appearances in this Championship campaign, thanked fans for their "incredible support" this season.

In a post on Instagram, he said: "It is difficult to put my feelings into words right now, but from the very beginning of the season, we set ourselves the goal of earning promotion to the Premier League, and every single day we fought together while supporting one another.

"And without a doubt, it was all of you - our fans and supporters - who stood by us until the very end and gave us the strength to keep moving forward.

"Thank you very much for everything."

Image source, Getty Images

Saints midfielder Leo Scienza said his side's expulsion was "heartbreaking" and expressed sympathy for everyone involved, including Hull and Middlesbrough.

In a post on Instagram, he said: "We gave everything for this dream. Day after day, sacrifice after sacrifice, always believing we could bring this club back to where it belongs.

"For me, the dream of playing in the Premier League was something I fought for with everything I had. That’s why this pain cuts so deep.

"The hardest part is knowing how much our fans deserved this moment. You stood behind us all season with incredible passion, loyalty and belief. Even in the toughest moments, you carried us forward.

"Thank you for staying with us through everything, you definitely deserved better ❤️"

We'll be bringing you updates and reaction after Southampton Football Club lost their appeal against expulsion from the Championship play-off final.

That's all from us for now on a disappointing day for Saints fans.

But we'll be back from 06:30 BST tomorrow with more reaction to tonight's breaking news.

You can get more on the BBC Sport website here.

Image source, bbc

Dr Christina Philippou, a professor in accounting and sport finance, discussed whether Southampton's punishment was disproportionate with Lewis Coombes on BBC South Today.

"Ultimately it was a sporting breach," she explained.

"It’s very hard to prove [that they gained a sporting advantage] in reality, so what you do is you go ‘here is an advantage you’ve gained, therefore the proportion of what you get has to be an equivalent thing, which is a sporting sanction’.

"A sporting sanction is either points deductions or expulsion… so from that perspective it might be harsh, and I totally feel for the fans, the players, everybody involved… but ultimately they broke a rule and got a sanction that relates to breaking that rule."

Southampton's appeal against being thrown out of the Championship play-off final for spying has been rejected.

You can read the full story and reaction here.

Southampton Football Club has released a statement after the news broke a few minutes ago that the clubs' appeal against being kicked out of the play-offs has been rejected.

Saints say that the club "has this evening been informed that the EFL’s League Arbitration Panel has upheld the sanctions imposed earlier this week".

It continues: "As a result, the club will not participate in Saturday’s Championship Play-Off Final.

"This is an extremely disappointing outcome for everybody connected with Southampton Football Club. We know how painful this moment will be for our supporters, players, staff, commercial partners and the wider community who have given so much backing to the team throughout the season and we apologise once again to everyone impacted by this.

"While we fully acknowledge the seriousness of this matter and the scrutiny that has followed, the club has consistently believed the original sporting sanction was disproportionate, a view that has been widely shared by many in the football community over the last 24 hours.

"We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to our supporters for the support, patience and loyalty they have shown throughout an incredibly difficult period. We will share information as soon as possible in relation to ticket refunds for those who bought tickets to Wembley.

"Southampton Football Club has a proud history and strong foundations, but it is clear that trust now needs to be rebuilt. That work begins immediately. The club will reflect carefully on the events that have led to this point, learn from them and take the necessary steps to move forward responsibly.

"While tonight is a painful moment, this football club will respond with humility, accountability and determination to put things right."

A statement from the English Football League says that "the original sanction of expulsion from the Sky Bet Championship play-offs remains in place, as does the four point deduction in the Championship next season".

It means the Championship play-off final between Hull City and Middlesbrough is confirmed as taking place on Saturday 23 May, kicking off at 15:30 BST.