Where's Willy? Southampton 'smoking gun' in spygate saga reveals new twist in Championship play-off row

Southampton are awaiting the outcome of an investigation into allegations that they sent a member of staff to spy on a Middlesbrough training session ahead of their play-off semi-final.

An individual, who it has since emerged is an intern at the Championship club, was spotted watching Boro go through their drills at their Rockliffe Park base last Thursday, less than 72 hours before the first leg of their tie at the Riverside Stadium.

That game was drawn 0-0, before Southampton won the second leg 2-1 after extra-time on Tuesday to seemingly book their place at Wembley, but the row has rumbled on after the club were charged by the EFL for breaching league rules - with Saints' fate now in the hands of an independent disciplinary commission.

Southampton spygate row takes fresh twist as new 'evidence' emerges

Southampton have been charged with a breach of EFL Regulation 3.4 and Regulation 127, which forbids opposition sides observing the other team's training within 72 hours of a match.

A number of possible sanctions have been discussed if they are found guilty, ranging from a fine to even expulsion from the play-offs - leaving Saints, Boro and Hull City, who are lying in wait in next Saturday's Wembley final, all in limbo.

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On Wednesday, the Daily Mail published a photo of what appears to be the 'spy' hiding behind a tree and filming Middlesbrough's training session on his mobile phone.

The newspaper identified the individual as Southampton intern William Salt, who was also pictured alongside Saints boss Tonda Eckert and fellow backroom staff when the German was named Championship manager of the month for February.

But that congratulatory photo could yet offer more evidence against the south coast club. Eckert won the manager of the month prize for March and April too as his side continued an ongoing 21-match unbeaten league run, but Salt was the only staff member that was absent from the March and April pictures who also appeared in the February image .

That is significant, because the April photo was released at 6am on the day after he was spotted in the North East, suggesting it was taken on the day Salt was allegedly spying on Boro's training session.

According to the Daily Mail, Salt also used his bank card to buy a coffee at Rockliffe Hall Golf Club, which is next to Middlesbrough's training ground and owned by Boro chairman Steve Gibson. That has given rise to theories that he could have left a paper trail of purchases close to the bases of other Championship clubs, with another second-tier side reportedly suspicious that they were spied on after changing manager shortly before they played Saints in December.

Southampton have added to the uncertainty by publishing play-off final ticket information on their website on Wednesday, announcing that the first sale window would open on Friday.

However, they quickly removed the details - although it has been reported that this was because the EFL wanted them to release the information at the same time as opponents Hull.

On Thursday morning, the Tigers released a statement addressing the uncertainty. It read: "Thank you for your patience while we await confirmation of the kick-off time for our Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final. We know many of you have contacted the Ticket Office in recent days, and we wanted to provide supporters with as much information as possible ahead of sales opening.

"Full details, including confirmed sale dates and kick-off time, will be communicated in due course. Until then, we kindly ask supporters to refrain from contacting the Ticket Office while final details are being confirmed. We appreciate your continued patience and support."

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough players have been told not to go on holiday yet and will return to training on Friday in the hope that they could contest the play-off final if Southampton are sanctioned.

The EFL have asked for the commission to deliver its verdict quickly to minimise uncertainty, but for now the immediate future of three clubs remains unclear.