The Tigers continue their preparations for Saturday’s showpiece final
Kim Hellberg has brought his Middlesbrough players back to work at the club’s Rockcliffe training centre(Image: Warren Little/Getty Images)
Middlesbrough’s players have returned to training as they continue to wait for news on the outcome of the EFL’s independent disciplinary panel hearing ahead of Saturday’s Championship play-off final at Wembley.
Southampton were charged by the EFL for alleged spying on Boro ahead of their play-off first leg at the Riverside Stadium, which ended goalless.
The South Coast outfit won the second leg 2-1 after extra-time at St Mary’s last Tuesday night, but since that victory, doubt has ensued about whether or not Saturday’s Championship play-off final will actually go ahead with Hull City preparing to face Southampton.
On Friday, Boro called for the strongest sporting sanction to be handed down to Southampton, which would see them kicked out of the play-offs, though the Teesside club stopped short of suggesting what should happen next. There was no mention of Boro being reinstated to take on City under the Wembley arch this weekend.
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Boro remain in limbo, but after having been given time off by Kim Hellberg, who himself returned to his native Sweden over the weekend, their players returned to Rockcliffe on Monday afternoon for their first training session of the week.
Hellberg wants his players ready for action, should Southampton be kicked out of the play-offs, and his team be reinstated by the three-person disciplinary panel.
The independent panel, which has been assembled by dispute specialists, Sport Resolution, are expected to have had their hearing on or before tomorrow, but it’s understood it didn’t happen at the back end of last week, as had been initially reported. A decision will be communicated swiftly once a decision has been reached.
Tickets for the 4:30pm kick-off remain on sale at both City and Southampton, with the Tigers having already sold more than 30,000 and another 2,000 added to their allocation, which takes the total to just under 38,000.
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