Saints Expelled from Playoffs

[Toadhall Saint]

3 minutes ago, Dman said:

Nah - Its just them trying to stop their fans from spamming their ticket office. Due course will be by the weekend 👍

So why can’t the clubs announce the details of the tickets - how they are being allocated to the fans ie X amount of aways gets first call and so on. 

[trousers]

[Secret Site Agent]

Has anybody checked to make sure it isnt DJ Audits from YouTube?

[LGTL]

The bizarre situation with the tickets is quite clearly linked to the investigation. That’s pretty obvious now. 

[CSA96]

That's a holding statement by Hull, really. I wouldn't attach too much importance to it at this stage

re: EFL trying not to sell tonnes of tickets before communicating the outcome, understandable. In an ideal world that would happen

[trousers]

3 minutes ago, Saint Pete said:

https://www.wearehullcity.co.uk/news/2026/may/11/City-are-bound-for-Wembley/

Yep, see last paragraph. Clearly some kind of decision, statement or at least holding response incoming from EFL before the ticket stuff goes out in my opinion. 

 

Indeed...

 

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, LGTL said:

The bizarre situation with the tickets is quite clearly linked to the investigation. That’s pretty obvious now. 

If we do not advertise the tickets today; ami think there may be more in the idea we won’t be going to Wembley

[trousers]

2 minutes ago, Secret Site Agent said:

Has anybody checked to make sure it isnt DJ Audits from YouTube?

Nah... he'd have launched 'David' to get a better view....

"Let's see what the training ground looks like FROM ABOOOOOOOVVVVE"

[Cuddles]

I hope they don't reduce our ticket allocation or something stupid like that.

[CSA96]

BBC Look North having some fun with Spygate from a Hull perspective 

 

[Patrick Bateman]

2 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

If we do not advertise the tickets today; ami think there may be more in the idea we won’t be going to Wembley

As usual, fans the most impacted, from all clubs. 

[Ted Bates Statue]

47 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

“The year is Christmas 2028, Southampton are making a mid season charge for the European places in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson has spent close to £50m in legal fees trying to prove that a disposable camera being used from Derbyshire to spy on their training session in the north-east, is “high tech equipment, even though it now transpires that the photo of the individual in question was taken in 2017.

Middlesbrough are already flirting with relegation to League One having not improved their squad, and having to sell to fund their off-field legal battles.

The case continues.”

😂

Might be worth bearing in mind Gibbo has hired Nick De Marco who is currently assisting Felipe Massa in his campaign to become the 2008 F1 World Champion and prevent Lewis Hamilton from winning his first title. Reminds me of another historic event:

 

 

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

If we do not advertise the tickets today; ami think there may be more in the idea we won’t be going to Wembley

Or the efl don't want us advertising tickets until the investigation is concluded. 

Edited Thursday at 10:53 by hypochondriac

[Saint Pete]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

Or the efl don't want us advertising tickets until the investigation is concluded. 

My theory is the EFL want to put something out before the ticket stuff starts happening. That may be a final decision or it may be some kind of holding response to show they have at least carried out part of the process/investigation before the play off final is confirmed, possibly to try to placate Boro to some extent. 

[LordHester]

8 minutes ago, trousers said:

Indeed...

 

That page was published two days ago, before the second leg against Boro. You only have to look at the date on the page ... 🤦🏼

[Willo of Whiteley]

3 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Or the efl don't want us advertising tickets until the investigation is concluded. 

This is the most likely.

So it probably means an outcome is due today or tomorrow.

Probably more a heads up for anyone with a lack of understanding:
An Independant Panel can only deal with facts, not emotion.
So if all Boro have is someone that looks like that fella with an iPhone on public land then that’s very wishy-washy.
If it transpires that north-east correspondents have broken GDPR in terms of bank cards/details/usage then they can be challenged back legally - which I would fully expect.

The EFL WILL NOT BE MOVING THE PLAY-OFF FINAL DATE.

They won’t be kicking us out because of all the legal complications that would arise on the back of that.

[Saint Pete]

1 minute ago, LordHester said:

That page was published two days ago, before the second leg against Boro. You only have to look at the date on the page ... 🤦🏼

Yes, but it shows that the original schedule was definitely to release ticket details on Wednesday, when we briefly posted our plan. So there has been a delay from the original plan which is the point. 

[AlexLaw76]

9 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Or the efl don't want us advertising tickets until the investigation is concluded. 

Then it must be concluded by tomorrow, surely?

 

[die Mannyschaft]

I cant see how Boro and EFL can conclude Saints have gained from any spying.  How can you correlate some traing footage to Saints gaining 3 points or what now appears to be about 40 points. If anyone studies our games half the time its pure luck we haven't conceded or scored. 

This would take months to look at game footage.

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, die Mannyschaft said:

I cant see how Boro and EFL can conclude Saints have gained from any spying.  How can you correlate some traing footage to Saints gaining 3 points or what now appears to be about 40 points. If anyone studies our games half the time its pure luck we haven't conceded or scored. 

This would take months to look at game footage.

It happened that is a fact. It just depends if the sanction is to be kicked out of a competition, or something else. Being kicked out is totally unprecedented and totally unwarranted 

the advantage gained is impossible to determine is a few days, if any exists.

[die Mannyschaft]

3 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Then it must be concluded by tomorrow, surely?

 

Why take so long or have they asked Boro to make the announcement. It doesn't take more than 20 minutes to agree and colude something with two parties 

[hypochondriac]

8 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

This is the most likely.

So it probably means an outcome is due today or tomorrow.

Probably more a heads up for anyone with a lack of understanding:
An Independant Panel can only deal with facts, not emotion.
So if all Boro have is someone that looks like that fella with an iPhone on public land then that’s very wishy-washy.
If it transpires that north-east correspondents have broken GDPR in terms of bank cards/details/usage then they can be challenged back legally - which I would fully expect.

The EFL WILL NOT BE MOVING THE PLAY-OFF FINAL DATE.

They won’t be kicking us out because of all the legal complications that would arise on the back of that.

100%. They wouldn't be able to kick us out now and if they attempted to do so the legal fallout means they wouldn't be able to forcibly remove us from the final at this stage anyhow. 

[Turkish]

When this has blown over i see a new range of Saints merchandise 

"Dont be Salty" T-shirts & phone cases incoming 

[Stripey McStripe Shirt]

16 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

BBC Look North having some fun with Spygate from a Hull perspective 

 

Wait! You mean other clubs have a fence around their training grounds. Seems unusual.

[hypochondriac]

6 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Then it must be concluded by tomorrow, surely?

 

Wouldn't surprise me. Or at least the prospect of not being in the final will be removed from the table. You'd have to think it will be Monday at the very latest. 

[Saint_clark]

17 minutes ago, Cuddles said:

I hope they don't reduce our ticket allocation or something stupid like that.

That would be a totally ridiculous punishment. 

As would removing us, but at least you can follow the logic.

[trousers]

Would the club be posting up-beat tweets like this today if they had any inkling we were subject to an expulsion...?

 

Edited Thursday at 11:12 by trousers

[Saint_clark]

9 minutes ago, Saint Pete said:

Yes, but it shows that the original schedule was definitely to release ticket details on Wednesday, when we briefly posted our plan. So there has been a delay from the original plan which is the point. 

Exactly. Not sure why people are struggling to follow this. Unless they're just in denial about the fact something is clearly about to happen.

[trousers]

15 minutes ago, LordHester said:

That page was published two days ago, before the second leg against Boro. You only have to look at the date on the page ... 🤦🏼

Yes, that's the point....

[hypochondriac]

2 minutes ago, trousers said:

Would the club be posting up-beat tweets like this today if they had any inkling we were subject to an expulsion...?

 

It would if you wanted to project an image of business as usual. Not that I think we will get kicked out. 

[Toadhall Saint]

8 minutes ago, die Mannyschaft said:

I cant see how Boro and EFL can conclude Saints have gained from any spying.  How can you correlate some traing footage to Saints gaining 3 points or what now appears to be about 40 points. If anyone studies our games half the time its pure luck we haven't conceded or scored. 

This would take months to look at game footage.

The rule is about observing the reading. Not about gaining anything from observing.

[Appy]

3 minutes ago, trousers said:

Would the club be posting up-beat tweets like this today if they had any inkling we were subject to an expulsion...?

 

That unbeaten run could go a long way if we’re booted out. 
 

Every cloud. 

[die Mannyschaft]

3 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

That would be a totally ridiculous punishment. 

As would removing us, but at least you can follow the logic.

Give Boro 2,000 tickets for final then they will know what they have missed out on due to their stupid team selection, crap defence and players rolling round with cramp. Stick em next to Saints fans so we can spy on them

[Saint NL]

3 minutes ago, trousers said:

Would the club be posting up-beat tweets like this today if they had any inkling we were subject to an expulsion...?

 

Zoom in and you can see the asterisk.

*Excluding games where Middlesbrough were awarded a 3-0 win by the EFL panel.

[Fela]

Isn't there a Boro Board member on the EFL board?

Is it possible he is driving a Boro agenda from the inside?

IE, delay ticket details, KO times as long as possible to give Boro every chance to appeal/ influence.

[maxi_sopez]

Yes a lot of people seem to be in denial that clearly there’s a delay in releasing ticket info due to investigation.

Im just so furious it’s come to this due to the absolute moronic behaviour by the club to do this. The risk v reward is mental. Every time we moan about the media, Boro fans and everyone else making it into a massive deal, remember we’ve put this all on ourselves. So so so dumb.

[Nordic Saint]

Just now, maxi_sopez said:

Yes a lot of people seem to be in denial that clearly there’s a delay in releasing ticket info due to investigation.

Im just so furious it’s come to this due to the absolute moronic behaviour by the club to do this. The risk v reward is mental. Every time we moan about the media, Boro fans and everyone else making it into a massive deal, remember we’ve put this all on ourselves. So so so dumb.

Boro owner Steve Gibson has reportedly engaged the services of Nick de Marco, the sports lawyer with a record of delivering results in hearings involving the game's governing bodies.

De Marco was recently heavily involved in making sure Sheffield Wednesday would start next season on zero points, when it seemed certain they would get a 15-point deduction.

This time De Marco would be arguing in favour of a penalty, rather than trying to get one removed.

If Gibson does not get the result he wants with the independent disciplinary commission, matters may not end there.

In 2021, Boro launched legal proceedings against Derby County. They claimed the Rams' financial breaches had cost them a play-off place in 2018-19.

The two parties eventually reached a "resolution", which BBC Sport believes resulted in Boro being paid £2m.

[Saint_lambden]

As of yesterday, a date still hadn’t been set for any independent commission hearing. 

[leesaint88]

5 minutes ago, Fela said:

Isn't there a Boro Board member on the EFL board?

Is it possible he is driving a Boro agenda from the inside?

IE, delay ticket details, KO times as long as possible to give Boro every chance to appeal/ influence.

There is, but this is why it's being overseen by an independent panel. 

[Toadhall Saint]

1 minute ago, Saint_lambden said:

As of yesterday, a date still hadn’t been set for any independent commission hearing. 

And you know this how?

[Nordic Saint]

1 hour ago, leesaint88 said:

There is, but this is why it's being overseen by an independent panel. 

Who selects the panel?

Edited Thursday at 12:32 by Nordic Saint

[St Louis]

This is genuinely true... my best mate just bumped into a Saints attacking midfielder (who might be Irish) in a department store in London (he sent me photo evidence) and had a quick chat. When asked, the unnamed player said 'Weve been told it will be a fine and we expect to play the final'.
I know that he cant really say much to a random fan, and its just a useless snippet, but thought worth sharing 🤭 I'm hoping he might have said 'we dont know anything yet' if they werent confident... or am I clutching at straws!?

[Barry the Badger]

5 minutes ago, maxi_sopez said:

Yes a lot of people seem to be in denial that clearly there’s a delay in releasing ticket info due to investigation.

Im just so furious it’s come to this due to the absolute moronic behaviour by the club to do this. The risk v reward is mental. Every time we moan about the media, Boro fans and everyone else making it into a massive deal, remember we’ve put this all on ourselves. So so so dumb.

The thing that I'll be annoyed about if he genuinely was sent by the club isn't so much that we did it, and more how utterly inept the attempt appears to have been. 

I just can't compute THAT (the photo) being what the club would've expected if they did sent somebody to do some covert surveillance. 

Edited Thursday at 11:26 by Barry the Badger

[RedArmy]

1 minute ago, leesaint88 said:

There is, but this is why it's being overseen by an independent panel. 

Are the independent panel just going to be presenting their findings with a guilty/not guilty or are they going to be the ones who decide the punishment too? 

[aintforever]

3 minutes ago, leesaint88 said:

There is, but this is why it's being overseen by an independent panel. 

Are they ever really independent though? They are being paid to do it by the EFL so the Boro guy is effectively one of their bosses.

Edited Thursday at 11:27 by aintforever

[leesaint88]

Just now, Nordic Saint said:

It's reported that Nick de Marco and Steve Gibson have already been in touch with them so I wonder how 'independent' they'll be.

If Middlesbrough have appointed NdM, then I'm sure there are a few holes that need....well, filling.

[Turkish]

If only people on here hadn’t pissed the CoT off all would have been revealed by now. All I’ll say it’s the WhatsApp group is VERY busy right now 

[saintant]

3 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

Boro owner Steve Gibson has reportedly engaged the services of Nick de Marco, the sports lawyer with a record of delivering results in hearings involving the game's governing bodies.

De Marco was recently heavily involved in making sure Sheffield Wednesday would start next season on zero points, when it seemed certain they would get a 15-point deduction.

This time De Marco would be arguing in favour of a penalty, rather than trying to get one removed.

If Gibson does not get the result he wants with the independent disciplinary commission, matters may not end there.

In 2021, Boro launched legal proceedings against Derby County. They claimed the Rams' financial breaches had cost them a play-off place in 2018-19.

The two parties eventually reached a "resolution", which BBC Sport believes resulted in Boro being paid £2m.

We're shaking in our boots Steve. Bring it on. Maybe you should have employed a decent fitness training coach then you might not have needed the sports lawyer guy who will be costing you a lot more money. Thought Gibbo was meant to be a businessman. 

[Toadhall Saint]

1 minute ago, St Louis said:

This is genuinely true... my best mate just bumped into a Saints attacking midfielder (who might be Irish) in a department store in London (he sent me photo evidence) and had a quick chat. When asked, the unnamed player said 'Weve been told it will be a fine and we expect to play the final'.
I know that he cant really say much to a random fan, and its just a useless snippet, but thought worth sharing 🤭 I'm hoping he might have said 'we dont know anything yet' if they werent confident... or am I clutching at straws!?

Thanks for sharing 👍

[saintant]

3 minutes ago, St Louis said:

This is genuinely true... my best mate just bumped into a Saints attacking midfielder (who might be Irish) in a department store in London (he sent me photo evidence) and had a quick chat. When asked, the unnamed player said 'Weve been told it will be a fine and we expect to play the final'.
I know that he cant really say much to a random fan, and its just a useless snippet, but thought worth sharing 🤭 I'm hoping he might have said 'we dont know anything yet' if they werent confident... or am I clutching at straws!?

Shhhhh! Don't tell the Boro fans 🙂