Middlesbrough’s play-off showdown with Southampton has been overshadowed by ‘cheating’ allegations levelled at the south coast club.

The EFL started an inquiry, which resulted in Southampton being charged with misconduct, and it is now up to an independent disciplinary tribunal to determine the appropriate punishment if proven guilty.

Middlesbrough’s attitude on Spygate is clear to EFL.

Boro were understandably outraged when they discovered that someone had been viewing their pre-match preparations for such an important fixture, with manager Kim Hellberg calling it ‘cheating’.

New sources have revealed Middlesbrough’s attitude towards the EFL, with the Northern Echo reporting that the club has two demands.

For starters, they want the commission to convene as quickly as possible, and they also want’sporting sanctions’ imposed on Southampton rather than a monetary fee.

Obviously, this is exacerbated by the second leg, which takes place on Tuesday night. However, the update reveals how Boro feel dumping Saints out of the play-offs should not be ruled out, and that Hellberg ‘would be urged to keep his players in training until a commission verdict is issued’, even if they lose on the south coast.

That would be a remarkable situation, but Boro are eager to explain to the panel why ‘Spygate’ was’so harmful’ to Hellberg and the players.

The challenges of not knowing who would play in the final are also a major reason Boro is asking the commission to make a swift decision, even if they have little influence over the outcome.

Previously, when Derby County accused Leeds of something similar, they were fined £200,000, but there were no particular rules in place to prevent this from happening.

Since then, procedures have been put in place to prevent this, therefore Saints’ alleged violation would be viewed as worse because they deliberately breached the rules.

Middlesbrough and Southampton’s play-off second leg will have an additional edge.

Boro are obviously upset about what has happened, and the fact that they are even considering the possibility that Southampton will be thrown out of the play-offs demonstrates how serious they take the situation.

The EFL has charged Southampton, and the independent disciplinary commission will need to hear from all parties to determine what happened, who was responsible, and what penalty is appropriate, which will take time.

That will not happen until the second leg on Tuesday night, and all that matters for both clubs is getting to Wembley, where they will have a crack at the Premier League.

In some ways, it’s unfortunate that this has dominated the headlines, since these are two really excellent teams, and Middlesbrough’s first-half effort on Saturday was outstanding, but they were unable to capitalize, and Saints improved as the game progressed.

So, the game is finely poised, and there is a lot at stake, but there’s no doubting that the off-field situation has thrown a wrench into the works.

Finally, it is no longer in Middlesbrough’s hands, and while they are entitled to make these demands if they believe they are appropriate, they will not be able to choose the type of punishment Southampton will receive.

As previously stated, this will be a continual process in the background, and it may become less of a talking topic if Middlesbrough defeats Southampton and eliminates them.

If they don’t, you can bet that this will continue on until a decision is reached, and it will be interesting to see what happens.