What six top pundits have said about Spygate after Southampton kicked out of play-off final

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Following a turbulent week, Saturday's Championship play-off final will see Middlesbrough - not Southampton - face Hull City for a spot in the Premier League . Boro endured a heartbreaking extra-time loss at St Mary's, with the outcome appearing to dash their promotion ambitions.

Nevertheless, Kim Hellberg's side will now head to Wembley for a crucial clash after Tonda Eckert's Saints were kicked out of the play-offs . Southampton were also handed a four-point deduction ahead of next season following admissions of spying on rivals before several fixtures.

These included the play-off semi-final first leg against Hellberg's outfit as well as matches during the regular campaign. The south coast club lost an appeal against the sanction, which they claimed was "disproportionate". Reactions to the decision have been divided and we've examined a selection of the pundits' views on the matter.

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"I think the Spygate punishment of Southampton is really harsh," Shearer, who began his professional career with the Hampshire club, told Betfair. "Without knowing too many ins and outs, I think that the punishment is really harsh on Southampton. I'm not sure the crime meets the punishment.

"I mean [Leeds United's then-manager] Marcelo Bielsa admitted to it, didn't he, a few years back and I think it was about a £200,000 fine. I know then the laws or the rules changed then, but you're talking about 200 million quid here."

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Shearer also pointed out the consequences for Middlesbrough's squad, who had been preparing to jet off on holiday before receiving an unexpected lifeline, while acknowledging he grasped Boro's position. "It's a really messy scenario, but I guess Southampton have only got themselves to blame. It does seem incredibly harsh to me," he added.

Former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT pundit Jordan also referenced the Leeds spying incident from 2019. "I think it's a very strange decision. You have to have gone some way from Leeds being sanctioned in 2019 with £200k, to expulsion from a game that is worth £250million. That is some way to leap," he said.

"There's always been good faith rules inside the EFL. So the fact they've adjusted the rules to be able to specifically cater for this sort of circumstances in terms of what Leeds did in 2019, but then move the dial to go from a circumstance that fined somebody £200,000 to somebody being booted out of a play-off final that could be worth £250m...

"So when Southampton are getting very upset about it, which, by the way, they should do, because it is in my view disproportionate, but their own stupidity is something they should be sanctioned for. Do I think it's disproportionate? Of course I do. Am I surprised they've done it? I'm really surprised they've done it."

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Lineker agreed with Shearer that the punishment felt severe. "I must say I was shocked at that news that broke this afternoon," he said on The Rest is Football after learning of the decision. "I'm not sure the crime warrants this punishment," he added. "A giant fine would have probably sufficed, I would think."

Redknapp, who managed Southampton and their rivals Portsmouth during a lengthy career in the dugout, was equally taken aback by the ruling. "I thought it was very harsh, to be honest. I didn't see it coming; I thought they would get a heavy fine," he told BBC Radio Solent.

Nevertheless, he implied his former club were largely to blame for their own downfall. "We have to be honest, what the manager has done there is so stupid it's beyond belief," he added. "Why have you got to send someone to spy on the opposition?

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"What has it come to? What are you learning by someone standing there and filming a bit of training? You must be paranoid about the opposition. Get your own team organised, stop worrying about what the other team are going to do. What are you learning by watching them train for an hour?

"It was a ridiculous thing to do, and they've been very heavily punished. I really do believe it's too severe, but maybe the club has got to learn a lesson. They've made a big, big error and have been severely punished. It's a shame because he [Eckert] had done a good job."

Not everyone believed the EFL had overstepped the mark. Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson was amongst the minority to adopt a contrasting stance, arguing this particular case warranted severe sanctions.

"I kind of quite like it," Robinson said on BBC Radio 5 Live . "It is like when you're a naughty kid. If you admit three or four things, you have clearly done seven or eight, and you have been caught for them all. The integrity of the game is of the utmost importance.

"It is not the first time they have done it. They have offered their hand, and they have paid the ultimate price for it. It is a strong punishment." Upson, another former England international, aligned himself with Robinson's viewpoint.

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