After a night of relative domination, Southampton defeated Middlesbrough to advance to the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium, but the night was marred by controversy.

Kim Hellberg’s side took an early lead at St Mary’s thanks to Riley McGree, but Ross Stewart equalised on the stroke of half-time, sending the game to extra time.

Both players were clearly exhausted when the contest went to penalties, but a Shea Charles cross found its way past the hapless Sol Brynn and sent Southampton to the home of football to face Hull City.

And if you thought the drama on the pitch was enough, Tonda Eckert’s post-game press conference was much more dramatic.

Tonda Eckert stormed out of the Southampton press conference.

While every play-off tie has a sense of tension, this one felt more intense considering the events that occurred before a ball was ever kicked in the first leg.

Ahead of the match at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough discovered a Southampton first-team analyst filming their training session while hiding in a bush, prompting an EFL investigation.

When asked about what had happened in the North East during his press conference, Saints manager Tonda Eckert stepped out.

After a hectic couple of days, the event was dubbed’spygate’, and there have been predictions that the South Coast club may face anything from a fine to being thrown out of the play-offs entirely.

Naturally, Eckert was questioned about the incident again after his team’s triumph, and a reporter simply asked if he was a cheat.

However, before the German could answer, his press officer replied, “Thank you very much, show some respect, yeah, well done,” and led the head coach out of the press conference.

Now, the football world waits to see what Southampton’s penalty will be, and whether they will be eliminated from the play-offs altogether.

What is the expected punishment for Southampton?

There has been a lot of speculation about the punishment that Saints could face, so it is critical to examine the facts as well as the past to see if they can give us with any hints.

To begin, the EFL has a clear policy on spying, which prevents any club from “directly or indirectly observing” another team’s training session 72 hours before they face off on the pitch.

Rule 127 was enacted to prevent teams from acquiring an unfair advantage by observing how another team could line up or intend to use set-pieces, stating that “each club shall behave towards each other and the league with the utmost good faith”.

Given that this incident occurred around 48 hours before the first leg began at the Riverside, it appears that the South Coasters reportedly violated this rule.

This has happened before, in 2019, when Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa sent one of his analysts to watch Derby County’s training session ahead of a match between the two clubs.

Leeds were then fined £200,000 and, ironically, beaten by Frank Lampard’s Derby, while the punishment was intended to dissuade others from doing so in the future, but it clearly did not work.

Given the gravity of the match and previous events, Southampton’s punishment could be harsher, albeit they are more likely to get a substantial fine rather than play-off elimination.

With the play-off final between Saints and Hull City scheduled for May 23, all eyes will be on Saints and how they will be punished in the drama that has captivated the English game.