Daniel Farke and Southampton may have advanced to the Championship playoff final, but a report in The Times claims the club may not make it to the Premier League promotion match following a spying scandal that has rocked English football in recent days. According to journalist Martin Ziegler, Southampton is expected to face disciplinary proceedings before the playoff final after an analyst working for the club allegedly filmed Middlesbrough's closed training session at their training facility without permission—just 48 hours before the first match between the two teams, which ended 0-0. The Football Association's regulations include an explicit clause prohibiting observation of an opponent's training session during the 72 hours before a match. Under that rule, the punishment could be particularly severe—including a technical defeat and even disqualification from the playoff.