Broadcasting live from multiple locations including team hotels, supporter hubs, and Wembley Way, the programme becomes a live hub for all the latest build-up featuring club legends, fan reaction and live updates as both teams prepare to arrive at the stadium. Joint top-scorers in this season’s competition Lyle Taylor (Chelmsford City) and Liam Atkinson (Longridge Town) will also join the show before Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole offer a deep dive into the tactical matchup taking viewers into the journeys of the two finalists and how the final will be won.

I hope we never try it cos we all know who they’d send.

The sad thing is that if the EFL properly hit Southampton hard and remove them from the playoffs it still wouldn’t stop other clubs spying in future.

In your view Lurker but not mine. pete has the only sensible suggestion for marking in that the referee does it but that slows the game down. The sensible option is just to reverse the throw if it is being taken from clearly the wrong place, not introducing yet more complications to the game.

Pete even better idea

OI nope I told you how it works.

The EFL added a rule on spying after the Leeds incident in 2019. Regulation 127, which states that "no club shall directly or indirectly observe (or attempt to observe) another club's training session in the period of 72 hours prior to any match." The problem is that the punishment is an ambiguous "significant penalties" including Points Deductions and / or Financial Penalties.

Clubs have loads of hangers on these days they can just say he was freelance and deny responsibility

Also, if the EFL haven't got rules in place to ban Southampton, they should just fine them like they did with Leeds(?) a few years ago and then make up a new rule for this sort of thing from now.

Has it been proven yet whether the "spy" was actually anything to do with Southampton ? I haven't seen anything myself to confirm he was. Could it not have been a member of the press/media.

Yes the EFL may well stand back but if not Hull are entitled to compensation, they have done nothing wrong to have their bank holiday visit to Wembley ruined. Wembley is also booked up the following two weekends so the match would presumably be moved elsewhere. Clobber Southampton with a points deduction and big fine when they are in the EFL and let the game go ahead.

The bloke who use to present picture box if you went to school has popped his clogs

The ref has his can of shaving foam. Mark where the throw position is. Simples. (new para) In snooker, when ball(s) have to be replaced, I see a use for laser technology there, instead of ages spent goofing around as they currently do. A dot marks the spot, iyswim.

So they both come down to one end where the play is to potentially mark where a throw in should be, a quick transition and they are 30 yards or more behind the play to judge an offside or a foul. The positioning of throws ought to be way down their list of duties, in fact not on them as now.

I think it’s a bit of sabre rattling from the EFL tbh. Can’t be good for Southampton’s preparations and it’s not the players’ fault that all this has gone on.

And that half the pitch bollocks is why quite a few bad decisions can get made. No official near enough to call it.

OI it wouldn’t need 4 ARs. Rugby manages to do it fine without 4. What it would take is a change to the archaic thing of ARs having a half the pitch each. They can just run their side of the pitch and the unused AR can mark offside. It’s not difficult - like I say other sports manage to do it.

Pete sadly it’s not uncommon for them not to get booked and the player who kicks it told to not try it on. It should be a booking as soon as the player walks up to the ball.

Gold is nice, but more comms gobbledygook? "a range of factors including matchday activations"

We got the Silver award for the previous year.

The EFL have awarded AFCW the Family Excellence Gold award for 2026.

The EFL show our club management in a good light. Hull fans have already bought tickets, booked trains etc and they are the ones most clearly entitled to be there. The team's preparations are messed up if they don't know who they will face. I just hope it doesn't end up costing us too much, given money that could have gone to all 72 clubs will now go to lawyers and paying settlements.

“ The complaint also details concerns surrounding Mr Rowley’s attendance at the club’s end-of-season staff event, accompanied by Yeovil Town FC’s Head of Recruitment, where interactions with contracted Walton & Hersham FC players took place despite clear indications that their presence was not welcomed by club ownership.”

EFL statement suggesting potential disruption to the Championship playoff final schedule.

Spart - agreed. VAR should not have got involved, but having got involved, they should have taken LONGER to look at it, because, as you point out, the attacker has forced the defender's arm upwards.