‘Disappointment, anger, sadness’ – Southampton star reacts after club kicked out of Championship play-off final

Forward Leo Scienza says he is feeling ‘disappointment, anger, sadness’ after Southampton’s appeal against being kicked out of the Championship play-off final for spying was rejected. 

The Saints’ expulsion means Hull City will face Middlesbrough in the final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. 

Southampton sent a staff member to record Boro’s training sessions ahead of the play-off semi-final. 

A man was spotted taking pictures and videos at Rockliffe Park. A staff member approached the person and asked him to delete the pictures and provide his identity. 

He fled to the clubhouse next to the training ground, changed into new clothes, and left the area. 

Publicly accessible online profiles linked the man to Southampton’s backroom staff. 

Middlesbrough made a formal complaint to the English Football League. An independent disciplinary commission found them guilty of spying and expelled the club from the play-offs. 

The club have also been handed a four-point deduction for next season. 

The commission reinstated Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. 

Southampton admitted spying on Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Boro this season, but appealed against their expulsion. 

Winger Scienza was the first player to react, expressing huge disappointment that his side will not play in the final.   

He posted on Instagram: “Disappointment, anger, sadness. It’s difficult to find the right words for what we’re all feeling right now.

“What has happened over the last few days is heartbreaking. For the club, for every player in this dressing room, and above all for our supporters. A moment like this should never end the way it did.”