Millwall. Wrexham are considering their legal options after confirmation that Southampton have been expelled from Saturday’s Championship playoff final and replaced by the beaten semi-finalists Middlesbrough.
The aggrieved clubs will await publication of the written reasons for the decisions taken by the English Football League’s independent disciplinary panel, which were upheld by an appeal panel on Wednesday night,. are understood to believe they could have grounds to make a claim for compensation.
Millwall. Wrexham could seek to test whether the EFL rulebook has been correctly applied or whether the disciplinary process was flawed, and could argue that because Southampton’s spying on Middlesbrough took place before the playoffs, they should have been replayed without Southampton’s involvement.
Millwall were beaten by Hull in the playoff semi-finals after finishing third and Wrexham missed out after finishing seventh.
There has been speculation in legal circles that one of the parties could seek an injunction at the high court to force the EFL to postpone Saturday’s game. that is regarded as a non-starter owing to the timescale. Any claim would therefore be retrospective for damages.
Hull’s owner. Acun Ilicali, said on Wednesday that his club had received legal advice that they should be automatically promoted to the Premier League as a result of Southampton’s expulsion rather than playing Middlesbrough.
There appears little prospect of Hull pursuing that case in the next 48 hours. they could also pursue a claim for damages if beaten at Wembley in a game worth a minimum of £200m to the winners.
Publication of the written reasons will be key because there has been little explanation from the EFL as to how it arrived at its decisions. the process involved.
By giving Southampton two sanctions – expulsion from the final. a four-point penalty in next season’s Championship – after the club admitted to spying Middlesbrough, Oxford and Ipswich, it appears the panel treated the playoffs as a separate competition.
The EFL’s rulebook contains no reference to the process for replacing an expelled team. although its guidance notes state that the playoff final should be contested between two semi-final winners, which will not be the case on Saturday.
Wrexham and Millwall declined to comment.
The FA is expected to bring charges against individuals after confirming it is investigating Southampton’s conduct. The position of the club’s head coach, Tonda Eckert, is regarded as untenable by the squad.
One of the players, Léo Scienza, has described expulsion from the playoffs as “heartbreaking”. said the fans “definitely deserved better”.
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