Southampton admitted spying on Middlesbrough before the first leg of the play-off semi-final, along with Oxford United at Christmas and Ipswich Town last month.<\/p>\n
When Saints hosted Ipswich on 28 April, the two teams were in direct competition vying to finish second and earn automatic promotion. The game ended 2-2.<\/p>\n
Southampton have no further right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.<\/p>\n
The Championship play-off final will now go ahead at Wembley on Saturday between Hull City and Middlesbrough (15:30 BST kick-off), with a place in the Premier League on the line.<\/p>\n
The fixture is dubbed as the most lucrative game in world football, with promotion worth a minimum of \u00a3200m in broadcast revenue and parachute payments.<\/p>\n
“A league arbitration panel has dismissed Southampton Football Club’s appeal against the independent disciplinary commission’s sanction following the admittance of multiple breaches of EFL regulations,” the EFL said on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
Saints called the ruling “an extremely disappointing outcome”.<\/p>\n
It added: “While we fully acknowledge the seriousness of this matter and the scrutiny that has followed, the club has consistently believed the original sporting sanction was disproportionate, a view that has been widely shared by many in the football community over the last 24 hours.”<\/p>\n