Southampton were thrown out of the playoff final on Tuesday evening after admitting to spying on three Championship clubs this season, but a new twist has emerged tonight, as reported by Sky Sports.
Southampton‘s playoff fixture against Middlesbrough was thrown into chaos when a Saints intern was found to be spying on Boro’s training 48 hours before the first leg of their playoff tie at the Riverside Stadium on May 9.
Having been charged by the EFL at that point, the second leg played out at St Mary’s last Tuesday, with Tonda Eckert’s side running out 2-1 winners on the night to advance to a final against Hull City, a week before the independent disciplinary commission reached their verdict following a hearing.
The EFL has now charged the south coast club with watching training sessions involving Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Boro, expelling them from the final and the chance to return to the Premier League following their relegation last term.
Middlesbrough will now face the Tigers at Wembley, and even worse for Southampton is that they will begin the 2026-27 season with a four-point deduction, as they look to go again to win promotion next term.
Saints chiefs aren’t giving up on promotion this season yet though.
Sky Sports Share Update From Southampton After Spygate Verdict
Southampton immediately lodged an appeal against the decision, which has to go down as one of the biggest sanctions in English football history.
Sky Sports journalist Mark McAdam reached out to Saints for reaction following the punishment, revealing their response live on air on Tuesday evening.
He says that Southampton chiefs believe they still have a ‘very strong chance’ of being in Saturday’s playoff final despite the verdict that has been reached today.
A decision on the appeal will be made by Wednesday at the latest, with one of the biggest games on the calendar just four days away and still massive uncertainty surrounding it.
Hard to See How Southampton Win Now
While Southampton are clearly confident that they will still be in the playoff final on Saturday, it’s hard to see how such a big U-turn could be made after such a serious punishment has been dished out.
To go from expelling a club from the playoffs to reinstating them one day later seems very unlikely, especially when Saints have admitted to wrongdoing on three separate occasions.
While we wait to see how the appeal on Wednesday turns out, it’s hard to see anything but the final remaining as Hull City against Middlesbrough.
And you have to feel sorry for Hull too, who are very innocent bystanders in all of this, ahead of what is one of the biggest matches in their history as they look to secure a return to the Premier League.
The Tigers would have been preparing to face Southampton in the final, now they have just a few days to work on tactics to play Middlesbrough instead.
Joshua made his return to the ring this weekend, eight months after he was involved in a fatal car crash in Nigeria which took the lives of two of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele.
The 36-year-old was easily expected to overcome Prenga in their bout at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia. However, while the bout only lasted two rounds, those two rounds were packed with drama.
Prenga came racing out of the blocks and knocked a shell-shocked Joshua down twice in the opening round.
Joshua regained his composure and asserted his dominance in the second round, and the bout was stopped following a brutal shot that sent Prenga crashing to the canvas.
Oleksandr Usyk’s Reaction to Joshua’s Victory
Credit: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Former undisputed world heavyweight champion Usyk was present in Jeddah to watch Joshua fight. The 39-year-old, who beat Joshua twice earlier this decade, trained alongside his former opponent as he prepared for his fight against Prenga.
Usyk took to Instagram on Saturday afternoon to wish Joshua good luck. He wrote: “Good luck tonight Anthony Joshua. I know how much work you have put into preparing for this fight. Now go out there and do what you came to do. Respect always!”
Ring Magazine have now posted footage showing Usyk’s reaction to Joshua’s victory. The Ukrainian appeared to breathe a huge sign of relief after Joshua’s victory was secured.
Usyk then made his way into the ring and the two shared an emotional embrace, with Joshua saying that ‘it was okay.’
Usyk gave his assessment on Joshua’s performance after his victory. He told talkSPORT: “Anthony Joshua is next undisputed champion. First round it’s a test but AJ is back.
“It’s boxing, [the] big upper cut is good, it’s a knockdown. AJ [come] back and win. Greedy Belly [Fury] will speak now and say weak chin, Greedy Belly get out. AJ wins [against Fury], [he will] knock him out.”
Joshua Praises Prenga and Speak About Fury
Credit: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Joshua was very complimentary of Prenga following the bout. He said, per Sky Sports: “He’s a strong guy and I think Eddie [Hearn] wants to sign him now!
“He is going to do well and has a bright future. Maybe with a bit more experience, he will be up there with the rest of us.
“He is strong and durable and gave me a good test but this is what champions do, we rise. We get knocked down and stand up. That’s life.”
Joshua is now expected to face Tyson Fury next. Speaking about the potential bout, Joshua said: “I am going to rip his heart out. I am the meanest and most vicious champion there has ever been!
“All jokes aside, I respect everything he has done and achieved but we are here now. I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat.”
Saturday night’s blistering two-round heavyweight shootout between Anthony Joshua and Kristian Prenga was fixed. That’s the view of former Crystal Palace and talkSPORT owner Simon Jordan, who took to social media after the fight to share his theory.
The bout was considered by many to be little more than a warm-up for Joshua ahead of his planned showdown with long-time rival Tyson Fury later this year.
However, within just seconds of the opening bell, ‘AJ’ was fighting for his career after being sent to the canvas with a right uppercut. The Watford man made it back to his feet, but looked to be in real trouble of suffering a first-round defeat.
Anthony Joshua Was Almost Knocked Out By Kristian Prenga
His Albanian opponent seemed to realise it, too, as he marched forward, landing a barrage of blows. Joshua did his best to try and avoid damage, but touched the mat again during the final minute of the round, prompting another count from referee Luis Pabon.
‘AJ’ made it back to his corner, but it hardly looked like the 60-second break would do him much good. The 36-year-old appeared on the verge of being taken out in a loss that would have almost certainly signalled the end of his time in the ring.
Curiously, though, Prenga didn’t seek to force home his advantage in the second round, allowing Joshua to find his way into the fight and ultimately secure a knockout victory with a huge right hand that sent Prenga sprawling to the canvas.
Admittedly, there was a huge gulf in class between the two fighters in terms of their resumes, but Jordan insisted that there was something more sinister behind the dramatic turnaround in the fight.
Conspiracy Theory Emerges on Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga
“Not having that Anthony Joshua fight,” he argued in a post on Twitter. “Dropped twice and sets the tempo [in the second round]. How’s that? Prenga totally different in the 2nd. Something not quite right. All designed to rinse the maximum amount of money.”
Per official numbers from CompuBox, the underdog Prenga only threw 17 punches in the second round before he was stopped, landing with just three. That came after he found the target with 13 of 46 in the first.
While Prenga’s output definitely dropped in the second round, there is no evidence to support Jordan’s theory of the fight being fixed.
Credit: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
However, some fans on social media were in agreement with the controversial radio host.
“That’s got to be the most blatantly fixed fight ever. Prenga drops Joshua twice in round 1, comes out for round 2, doesn’t throw a punch and just lets Joshua punch his head off,” argued one fan.
Another wrote: “Did someone get into Prenga’s ear after the first round to throw that fight? He didn’t throw a single punch in the 2nd round. Fixed.”
A third agreed: “Something very sus about this. Geezer was battering Joshua then 2nd round came and he didn’t wanna know! Fixed to max!”
Others, though, were quick to shoot down Jordan’s statement.
“AJ took an uppercut (by a fighter with 20 KO wins),” began one reply. “[He was a] little rusty and came back. His jab clearly warned off Prenga, and he did some damage before the knockout. Not everything has to be a conspiracy!”
“Bit too deep Simon. Was just a fight,” declared another response. AJ got whacked, and then 2nd round, whacked the other guy out. You can’t script/fake what happened in that fight.”
A final comment pointed out: “The aftermath felt genuine. Very hard to orchestrate a heavyweight boxing match.”
With Joshua now set to move on to a money-spinning bout with Fury, it is highly unlikely that Prenga will ever get the chance to share the ring with ‘AJ’ again, especially given the shock that he almost caused.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
Former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua won his final fight before his planned showdown with Tyson Fury later this year with a victory over unheralded Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
Fury competed in a warm-up bout of his own on Friday night, stopping 46-year-old veteran Mariusz Wach. Joshua got the job done quicker, as he ended his fight in the second round, but he had to survive a huge scare.
Joshua was floored within the first 30 seconds after being caught flush with a right uppercut and would find himself on the canvas again before the end of the session.
Joshua bounced back in the second, securing the win with a devastating left hand that separated Prenga from his senses.
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
