Wrexham star calls for play-offs to be restarted and Southampton replaced by Welsh side

Wrexham star Josh Windass has called for the Championship play-offs to be completely restarted following Southampton's removal from the competition, with his Wrexham side taking the Saints' place.

The forward's team narrowly missed out on postseason qualification, finishing just one position below the cut-off.

Windass posted on Instagram: "This Southampton story is one of the maddest I've seen.

"But why isn't the play-offs starting again with the four other teams? Boro v Hull would have been the semi!! Confused."

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Were Southampton excluded from the equation entirely, Wrexham would have earned a semi-final meeting with Millwall, who finished third in the table.

Southampton was expelled from the post-season tournament by an independent commission after the club admitted to three separate spying incidents.

The offences included surveillance of Middlesbrough's training sessions ahead of their play-off semi-final clash earlier this month.

Two further breaches involved observing Oxford's preparations last December and Ipswich's sessions in April.

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Each incident took place after Tonda Eckert was appointed as Southampton's head coach in early December.

Beyond removal from the play-offs, the initial panel also imposed a four-point penalty to be applied to the Saints' tally next season.

Middlesbrough had publicly demanded Southampton's expulsion prior to Tuesday's hearing, later stating the verdict "sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct".

Southampton have confirmed they will challenge the sanctions, with a league arbitration panel assembling to consider their case.

Sources familiar with the proceedings indicated a verdict could potentially be delivered and made public this evening.

The arbitration panel faces a binary choice: either uphold the commission's original ruling or restore Southampton to the competition.

Should the initial decision stand, the Saints will lose their opportunity to secure Premier League promotion, a prize valued at a minimum of £200million.

Southampton have remained silent since the commission delivered its judgement on Tuesday.

Middlesbrough have been reinstated to contest Saturday's Wembley final against Hull, though this arrangement remains contingent on the appeal outcome.

The Teesside club's players returned to their Rockliffe Park training ground on Wednesday, preparing for their potential appearance at the national stadium.

Tickets for Boro supporters go on sale from 1pm today, with fans allocated the same end where Southampton had already shifted more than 37,000 seats.

The EFL confirmed differing kick-off times depending on which club ultimately faces Hull at the weekend.

A Middlesbrough versus Hull final would begin at 3.30pm, while a Southampton appearance would see the match start at the originally scheduled 4.30pm.

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