Southampton has been thrown out of Saturday¡¯s Championship playoff final ¡ª the richest game in world soccer ¡ª after being found guilty of spying on semifinal opponent Middlesbrough, in one of the harshest punishments imposed in the English game.

Tuesday¡¯s decision by an English Football League-appointed Independent Disciplinary Commission dramatically rewrites the second-tier promotion ?race and hands Boro an unlikely reprieve after it lost 2-1 on aggregate to Southampton in the semis.

Middlesbrough has now been reinstated ?and will ?face Hull City at Wembley on Saturday in a match routinely dubbed the richest in world soccer ?because of the financial windfall attached to promotion to the Premier League.

Even if followed by immediate relegation, a single season in the Premier League is estimated to be worth around ?200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons through broadcast revenue, sponsorship and parachute payments.

Southampton admitted ?the charge of illegally spying on an opponent within 72 hours of a scheduled match, and also admitted similarly filming training sessions involving Oxford United ?in December and Ipswich Town in April during the regular season.

Southampton failed to win any of those games.

The club had made no statement by midnight, but multiple reports said it was planning to appeal the severity of the punishment.

The ?EFL had said in announcing Southampton¡¯s expulsion that the ?club could appeal and that ¡°parties are working to try and resolve any appeal on Wednesday 20 May.¡±

The EFL said that subject to the outcome, it could result in a further change to Saturday¡¯s ?fixture, leaving the south-coast club ?with a glimmer of hope.

The unprecedented ruling may open a Pandora¡¯s box of legal ?issues, with some media reports saying Southampton¡¯s players could have a case against their club for loss of ?earnings if they ?are denied a shot at reaching the Premier League.

Other reports said clubs who had failed to reach the playoffs could seek some form of compensation.

Southampton¡¯s allocation of some 37,000 tickets to the Wembley showcase had sold out earlier on Tuesday.

While the club had remained silent, Southampton fans had plenty to say, with some leaping to the club¡¯s defense, while others voiced shame.

¡°Spying ?or not, we won fair and square on the pitch,¡± supporter Melissa Earley Gordon told Southampton newspaper The Daily Echo. But Martin Sanders, who runs a Saints fan channel on YouTube and had booked tickets, travel and hotel for the final, told the newspaper he felt let down.

¡°Ashamed, disgusted, gutted, let down. Massively let down,¡± he said. ¡°I am awaiting the club¡¯s statement to see what the club have to say. I am appalled. I ?think ?the fans have been let down, I think...