Southampton stars could rip up contracts over Spygate and leave for free | Football | Sport

Southampton stars could threaten to rip up their contracts and leave the club for free following the recent Spygate drama. Saints had beaten Middlesbrough in the semi-final of the Championship play-offs and were due to take on Hull City in the Wembley showpiece on Saturday.

However, the football world was sent into a state of shock when the EFL announced Southampton would be removed from the play-off final, with Middlesbrough taking their place instead. Despite appealing the decision, Southampton admitted to spying on three different Championship opponents and were also handed a four-point penalty.

The ramifications won’t be fully felt until after the dust has settled, with the Southampton squad said to have been left raging at Tonda Eckert and his coaching team. So much so that there were reports that some could even consider suing the hierarchy for loss of earnings from missing out on a chance to earn promotion to the Premier League.

What’s more, The Athletic have now claimed some could even go as far as ripping up their contracts altogether. It’s reported that clause 11.1 in the standard contract for professional players in England allows players to terminate their deal if a club “shall be guilty of serious or persistent breach of the terms and conditions of this contract.”

It’s also suggested that Southampton could run into problems with their sponsors, who might not want to be associated with a club found guilty of cheating. Meanwhile, Hull City, Millwall and Wrexham have also reportedly explored their legal options after the latter two missed out on the playoffs.

A statement from Southampton read: “Southampton Football Club has this evening been informed that the EFL’s League Arbitration Panel has upheld the sanctions imposed earlier this week. As a result, the club will not participate in Saturday’s Championship Play-Off Final.

“This is an extremely disappointing outcome for everybody connected with Southampton Football Club. We know how painful this moment will be for our supporters, players, staff, commercial partners and the wider community who have given so much backing to the team throughout the season and we apologise once again to everyone impacted by this.

“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.

“We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to our supporters for the support, patience and loyalty they have shown throughout an incredibly difficult period. We will share information as soon as possible in relation to ticket refunds for those who bought tickets to Wembley.”