Southampton say the decision to expel them from the Championship play-offs over the ‘Spygate’ scandal is “manifestly disproportionate” to any other sanction handed down in the history of the English game.
An independent commission imposed the penalty – and docked four points for next season – after the club admitted three spying charges, including one related to observing a training session of play-off semi-final opponents Middlesbrough earlier this month.
The commission also reinstated Boro, denying Southampton the chance of a shot at promotion to the Premier League worth an estimated £200 million at a minimum.
Saints chief executive Phil Parsons confirmed they were appealing against the sanctions and, while he apologised to supporters for the conduct of club staff, the club are adamant the penalty is far too harsh.
“The commission was entitled to impose a sanction. It was not, we will argue, entitled to impose one that is manifestly disproportionate to every previous sanction in the history of the English game,” Parsons said.
“We believe the financial consequence of yesterday’s ruling makes it, by a very considerable distance, the largest penalty ever imposed on an English football club.”
A league arbitration panel will hear Southampton’s appeal on Wednesday afternoon.
