I am not sure the advantage is minor.
Regardless of minor, it’s against the rules…kick the ****s out
Efl will be praying we winThe Football League's inactivity before the 2nd leg has come back to bite them in the arse.
If we lose to Southampton and the decision were then made to prevent Southampton from being promoted, all three of the other clubs would have an argument that they had been unfairly penalised. In Millwall's case, being the third best team in the division and yet seeing either City or Boro go up at their expense would raise the question of why other play-off losers should be considered preferable. Might we even see the Premier League come to an agreement that, as City and Boro would both have been defeated by Southampton, only two clubs be relegated to the Championship? This would be a convenient way of keeping West Ham in the top-flight. But then, City's argument would be that they had lost to an opponent who had gained an unfair advantage in their semi-final...
What a ****show
In this circumstance, we would clearly be promoted as next in line after cheats thrown out.The Football League's inactivity before the 2nd leg has come back to bite them in the arse.
If we lose to Southampton and the decision were then made to prevent Southampton from being promoted, all three of the other clubs would have an argument that they had been unfairly penalised. In Millwall's case, being the third best team in the division and yet seeing either City or Boro go up at their expense would raise the question of why other play-off losers should be considered preferable. Might we even see the Premier League come to an agreement that, as City and Boro would both have been defeated by Southampton, only two clubs be relegated to the Championship? This would be a convenient way of keeping West Ham in the top-flight. But then, City's argument would be that they had lost to an opponent who had gained an unfair advantage in their semi-final...
What a ****show
Boros manager said it best
Cheating that could result in expulsion from a league or a competition, in my eyes, is match fixing, bribing an official, or fielding an illegible player(s), not filming a training session on a phone.
The cynic in me thinks VAR might be used to engineer the result they want. Or I hope so anywayEfl will be praying we win
Good idea….lets prey it goes to ET & pens
Absolutely right. These pundits like Danny Mills dismissing it as ‘minor’ miss the point. The Swindon 25/26 precedent is the best comparison. They were expelled for ACCIDENTALLY playing two unregistered players. Southampton have DELIBERATELY flouted the rules, and now we know they’ve done it on more than one occasion. Hopefully they give them a really draconian punishment in view of the repeated breaches of the rules - eg relegation to League One, huge fine, and being chucked out of play-off final. Then Southampton appeal the punishment, but make it clear they accept the fine and losing their play-off spot. That leaves room for wiggle room and compromise (ie the relegation side of things gets overturned).
Someone should remind the Boro manager that the only way a manager or coach can win is to score one more goal than the opposition, not doing something 'tactically different'.
If they hadnt have been caught
Yes but not in the letter of the law, or rather EFL rules, which is what counts.
ah right
Swindon Town absolutely hammered by being demoted two divisions in June 1990 as punishment for financial irregularities. Just ten days after winning the Second Division play-off final to earn promotion to the First Division, the club admitted to 36 breaches of Football League rules, primarily involving illegal payments to players." Even if the EFL think it's trivial, which I don't think they will, it is specifically against the current rules. Has it happened more than once? They can't ignore it. Southampton have admitted it and so must be punished. I doubt that the punishment will be minor but it's possible the EFL are more bothered about their own income and avoiding litigation. As always, time will tell.
What if the ineligible player is crap and makes an error during the game? The team fielding an ineligible player hasn’t gained an advantage using that logic.
