{"id":131,"date":"2026-05-12T22:37:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=131"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:37:29","slug":"amid-spying-controversy-southampton-reaches-playoff-final-and-is-one-win-from-premier-league-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=131","title":{"rendered":"Amid spying controversy, Southampton reaches playoff final and is one win from Premier League return"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Southampton brushed off a spying controversy to advance past Middlesbrough after extra time in the Championship playoffs on Tuesday and get to within one win of a return to the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=129\">Teen charged in Raleigh mall shooting wasn\u2019t part of initial fight; attorney says he was protecting friend<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In a heated second leg that saw both coaches square up to each other at one point, Southampton rallied for a 2-1 victory at its home stadium at St. Mary\u2019s and seal a win on aggregate by the same score. The decisive goal \u2014 scored by Shea Charles when his cross curled into the bottom corner \u2014 came with four minutes left of extra time.<\/p>\n<p>The two games were played under a cloud, with Southampton having been charged by the English Football League with a breach of its regulations following accusations that unauthorized filming of Middlesbrough\u2019s training took place last week.<\/p>\n<p>The EFL requested that an independent disciplinary commission undertake a hearing \u201cat the earliest opportunity\u201d but Southampton asked for more time to complete an internal review into the issue, meaning any punishment would likely be meted out before the playoff final with Hull on May 23.<\/p>\n<p>That final is the richest one-off game in world soccer, with the winner assured a windfall of at least 200 million pounds ($270 million) in future earnings via things like prize money and broadcast revenue in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=127\">Community Matters: Increasing access to STEM education<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Tensions between Southampton and Middlesbrough boiled over at the end of the first half when the respective coaches \u2014 Tonda Eckert and Kim Hellberg \u2014 got in each other\u2019s faces on the touchline while being spoken to by the referee. After the first leg, which finished 0-0, Hellberg said he \u201ccouldn\u2019t believe my eyes or ears\u201d when he heard about the spying allegations and accused Southampton of trying to \u201ccheat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following another first-half exchange \u2014 between Middlesbrough\u2019s Luke Ayling and Southampton\u2019s Taylor Harwood-Bellis \u2014 the BBC and Sky Sports reported that Ayling accused Harwood-Bellis of using discriminatory language.<\/p>\n<p>Southampton is seeking an immediate return to the Premier League after relegation last season. Before that, it was in the top flight from 2012-23.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=125\">NC lawmakers announce state budget deal, after going nearly a year without one<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hull was last in the Premier League in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>Steve Douglas is at https:\/\/twitter.com\/sdouglas80<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Southampton brushed off a spying controversy to advance past Middlesbrough after extra time in the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Amid spying controversy, Southampton reaches playoff final and is one win from Premier League return - 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