European club 'planning legal action' against Southampton over spygate scandal

Southampton face possible legal action from Bundesliga club Nuremburg, according to reports in Germany.

The Saints were thrown out of the Championship play-offs after admitting to spying on opponents' training sessions after semi-final opponents Middlesbrough raised the alarm.

Middlesbrough were reinstated and will face Hull City in the Championship play-off final for a place in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Southampton can expect to face an as yet undetermined array of consequences after an independent panel ruled that they would be expelled and their subsequent appeal was denied.

Reports quickly emerged that Saints players could consider taking legal action for loss of earnings. Championship rivals who've missed out as a result of Southampton's turnaround in form under head coach Tonda Eckert are also understood to be considering their options.

The complicated web of potential costs also extends beyond the borders of the United Kingdom and Nuremburg are planning to take Southampton to court over a bonus payment of €1 million that would have been due if the Hampshire club had reached the Premier League.

Nuremburg sold midfielder Caspar Jander to Saints last August and the deal for the 23-year-old included a promotion bonus, according to German tabloid Bild.

The newspaper also reports that the former Duisburg youngster has indicated his desire to leave St Mary's Stadium.

'A contrived and determined plan from the top down'

The EFL released the written reasons for the decision of the independent disciplinary committee on Thursday evening and they made for grim reading.

It was revealed that Southampton admitted to misleading the EFL's initial investigation and copped to six charges relating to breaches of league investigations.

The written reasons painted a bleak picture of what was going on behind the scenes at Southampton, suggesting that at least one junior member of staff was pressured into nefarious action.

"The EFL submitted that the evidence supported the view that the observations were authorised at a senior level and that the task was delegated to the intern in relation to the [Middlesbrough] Incident and the [Oxford United] Incident," stated the full verdict.

"He declined to be involved in the IT incident. We heard evidence from the intern who described the pressure he was placed under.

"We have concluded that there was, on the part of [Southampton], a contrived and determined plan from the top down to gain a competitive advantage in competitions of real significance by deliberate attendance at opposition training grounds for the purpose of obtaining tactical and selection information.

"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."