Spygate and Ipswich Town: What was the impact?

Southampton FC are in disgrace after admitting spying on three teams, including Ipswich Town, during the last Championship season.

Saints were already in trouble after they were caught surreptitiously filming their play-off semi-final opponents Middlesbrough in training ahead of the match on 7 May.

The Hampshire club also admitted to filming Town and Oxford United, resulting in their removal from the play-off final and a four-point deduction in the Championship next season.

Ipswich, already promoted to the Premier League after finishing second in the Championship, have not commented on the controversy.

So does Southampton's admission ultimately matter to the Suffolk club and its supporters – and could things have been different?

According to The Athletic, a member of Southampton staff watched Ipswich Town as they trained at Eastleigh's training ground ahead of the key Championship fixture at St Mary's Stadium on 28 April.

It said the Saints staffer was disguised in Eastleigh FC kit in an attempt to blend in.

The match was billed as a must-win for Saints, who needed a win to keep their hopes of a second-place finish and automatic promotion alive.

Three points for Ipswich, meanwhile, would have virtually guaranteed their return to the Premier League.

In the end, it finished level at 2-2, leaving Southampton in the play-offs and Ipswich needing a final day victory against QPR to be sure of promotion.

Southampton's spying may not have resulted in the win they had hoped for, but Audrey Cobb, an Ipswich fan for more than 60 years, told BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin she still thought it was "disgusting."

Cobb, of Felixstowe, said: "I cannot understand why a team would be so underhand.

"To try and get to where you want to go by cheating? I'm sorry but I just don't agree with that."

Joe Fairs, of Ipswich Town podcast Blue Monday, said: "It will always be impossible to know what 'Spygate' changed.

"The very fact Southampton were happy to go to such lengths, they clearly felt that the value doing so was worth the risk of being caught.

"Whilst the punishment may appear harsh, I think that the EFL (English Football League) have made the correct decision."

Could the outcome of the Southampton vs Ipswich match have had a significant role in the Blues' promotion?

Graeme McLoughlin, BBC Radio Suffolk's sports editor, thinks not, since a win in the final game of the season against QPR would have seen Town promoted regardless.

"The odds would still have been in Town's favour going into that match against QPR," he said.

"I think the team that probably can feel more hard done by is Millwall."

The South London side missed out on second place and then lost their play-off semi-final against Hull City.

Phil Ham, who runs independent Ipswich Town fan site TWTD, said: "Because we got promoted, it's not quite the reaction it might have been.

"Had we lost at Southampton and we ended up in the play-offs, I think fans would have been up in arms."

Ham said he thought if Ipswich had been caught spying, Blues fans would be condemning their actions.

"We've seen plenty of clubs over the years face sanctions for inadvertent breaking of rules, such as fielding an ineligible player, but this goes further than that. It was a very deliberate act," he said.

But what insights were Southampton hoping to gain from their spying, and could they have had a bearing on the result?

Lee Mandley, director of sports science at Suffolk New College, said: "At elite sport, the 1% can make all the difference.

"In this scenario, it could be a corner routine; being able to defend that or spot a space to exploit.

"So much of football is based on patterns; set play routines. If that's all they've got from it, that could be significant."

Mandley said it was "not a surprise, unfortunately" that teams were tempted to look for an advantage when the rewards for success were so high.

It is thought winning promotion to the Premier League is worth over £100m.

Unless Southampton win their appeal against their expulsion from the play-off final, they will be missing out, while Ipswich Town are preparing for another crack at the top flight.

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.