Southampton say the decision to expel them from the Championship play-offs over the ‘Spygate’ scandal is “manifestly disproportionate” to any other sanction handed down in the history of the English game.
An independent commission imposed the penalty – and docked four points for next season – after the club admitted three spying charges, including one related to observing a training session of play-off semi-final opponents Middlesbrough earlier this month.
