The wounds of the Spygate scandal will take considerable time to heal following the Championship play-off final. After one of the most turbulent fortnights in EFL history, one chapter of the saga drew to a close on Saturday as Ollie McBernie's 95th-minute winner fired Hull City into the Premier League at Middlesbrough's expense.
Though they would never publicly admit it, the EFL hierarchy was likely breathing a sigh of relief at the result, given Tigers owner Acun Ilicali had hinted at potential legal action if his side had lost. A victory for semi-final losers Boro could have opened another can of worms.
While Southampton felt aggrieved at being thrown out of the play-offs, the debacle was entirely of their own making after they dispatched a junior analyst to spy on a Boro training session on the eve of the semi-finals. It later came to light that the Saints had pulled the same stunt ahead of league fixtures against Oxford and Ipswich.
Boro's subsequent complaint fuelled a febrile atmosphere in the build-up to both legs. Supporters of the Teesside club were incensed, while Saints fans initially attempted to laugh off the controversy, with some turning up dressed as spies for the second leg, while Taylor Harwood-Bellis marked the extra-time winner with binocular celebrations.
Given what followed, those jokes curdled faster than milk on a scorching May Bank Holiday. Harwood-Bellis did at least have the decency to apologise for his antics.
Southampton's apparent lack of remorse over the controversy didn't go down well with many. While they ultimately acknowledged wrongdoing, the club initially tried to bat off the scrutiny. After the first leg, a media officer abruptly ended a press conference and told a journalist to "show some respect" when a visibly uncomfortable Tonda Eckert was asked whether he was a cheat.
Eckert later admitted sanctioning the spying operation, insisting he was unaware it breached regulations and maintaining that the practice was standard across mainland Europe. Once more, that 'excuse' did neither him nor his club any favours in public perception.
The consequence of Southampton's expulsion and Boro's Wembley heartbreak means the unexpected adversaries will face each other again next season. The Saints' only genuine Championship rivalry was with Portsmouth, while Boro traditionally look to Newcastle and Sunderland.
However, the animosity between the two clubs is unlikely to ease within just a few months. An early-season clash would prove particularly heated. The Championship fixture list, due out on June 25, will make for fascinating reading.
The ongoing presence of Eckert in the Saints' technical area would render those fixtures even more volatile, though the German is widely tipped to lose his job over his involvement in the affair. Regardless, relations between the clubs could take years to mend.
