Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert authorised spying on other teams, with an independent disciplinary commission ruling the club's covert surveillance of rival Championship clubs constituted a "contrived and determined plan from the top down".
The 33-year-old German, who took charge at St Mary's midway through the season, "accepted that he had specifically authorised the observations," according to the commission's written reasons published by the English Football League.
Southampton have been thrown out of the Championship play-offs and will begin next season with a four-point penalty after admitting to secretly monitoring opponents' training sessions.
The commission ruled such espionage "seriously violated" the competition's integrity, warranting the severe punishment imposed on the club.
The commission described Southampton's use of junior employees to carry out the secret surveillance as "deplorable," noting these staff members "were put under pressure" to participate in the scheme.
"It involved far more than innocent activity and a particularly deplorable approach in its use of junior members of staff to conduct the clandestine observations at the direction of senior personnel," the commission stated.
The situation came to light only after a young member of staff was discovered secretly observing Middlesbrough at their training facility.
"There was transmission and internal dissemination and analysis of footage and observations," the commission added.
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Southampton admitted to spying on three Championship rivals during the campaign.
Oxford United and Ipswich Town were spied on earlier in the season, followed by Middlesbrough ahead of the play-off semi-final first leg.
The commission revealed Eckert approved the Oxford surveillance specifically to uncover their tactical formation following a managerial change at the club.
For the Middlesbrough spying, the head coach sought to find out if a marquee player was playing.
The commission stated: "Mr Eckert accepted that he had specifically authorised the observations to obtain information about formation (in the Oxford incident) and about the availability of a key player [in the Middlesbrough spying]."
Southampton argued the gathered intelligence neither influenced team selection nor provided any sporting benefit, pointing to their poor first-half display at Middlesbrough as evidence.
The commission dismissed this defence entirely.
It concluded "it is inherent in having information which your opponent would wish to keep private that you have a sporting advantage".
Southampton's removal from the play-offs resulted in Middlesbrough, who they had defeated in the semi-final, being reinstated to the competition.
Boro will now face Hull City in Saturday's final for a place in the Premier League.
The club's appeal against their expulsion proved unsuccessful. Southampton had cited Leeds United's £200,000 fine for similar conduct in 2019, but the commission noted this occurred before current regulations were introduced.
The panel determined that any financial penalty would be "meaningless" given the potential rewards of top-flight promotion. At the same time, additional point deductions would fail to serve as an effective deterrent against future spying.
Southampton had their appeal rejected, describing the punishment in a club statement as "manifestly disproportionate".
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