All articles tagged with #efl championship
Southampton have been expelled from the Championship play-off final for spying on Middlesbrough’s training, with Middlesbrough reinstated to face Hull at Wembley for a Premier League spot; Southampton face a four‑point deduction next season and will appeal, while the match remains the sport’s prize pathway to roughly £200m in extra income.
Middlesbrough have asked the EFL to exclude Southampton from the Championship play-off final following the Spygate spying incident at Rockliffe Park. An independent disciplinary hearing is set for before May 19, but Middlesbrough, not allowed to attend, argue the conduct breaches sporting integrity and warrants a sporting sanction. If Saints are not expelled, the final against Hull on May 23 would proceed; otherwise the match could be delayed or altered depending on the outcome.
Southampton is under scrutiny after an analyst was caught spying on Middlesbrough's training two days before the playoff leg, a controversy that highlights the marginal gains spying can yield in soccer and the high-stakes pressure of the Championship playoffs as promotion hangs in the balance.
The match between Southampton and Wrexham on August 9, 2025, at St Mary's Stadium marks the start of the 2025/26 EFL Championship season, with live coverage available on Sky Sports in the UK and various international platforms. Southampton aims to bounce back to the Premier League, while Wrexham seeks to establish themselves in the Championship. Expected lineups feature strong formations from both teams, emphasizing their strategic approaches. The game is significant for both clubs' ambitions and global attention.
Leicester City, who won the Premier League in 2016, have been relegated to the EFL Championship despite beating West Ham United 2-1 on the final day of the season. The club's trajectory from champions to relegation in such a short time period raises questions about how a club with so much individual talent could fall so far. The club faces a huge summer of change, with eight players out of contract and a need to rebuild. Leicester's primary domestic disappointment was dropping out of the Champions League places in the final few weeks of the 2020 season.