Gary Rowett admits he was pleased Hull City came through the Championship play-offs last season after the Spygate controversy involving Southampton.
The former Birmingham, Derby, Millwall and Leicester City boss managed against the Tigers twice last season, first a 3-2 loss with Oxford United in August 2025 and than a 2-2 draw in April when he was in charge of the Foxes.
Having failed to halt Leicester’s slide into League One, Rowett is currently out of a job and has been working in the media.
Indeed he was at Wembley in May when a late Oli McBurnie winner completed what was one of the most unlikely stories in recent memory.
Rowett told talkSPORT it was the right outcome after Southampton had been thrown out of the post-season and Middlesbrough, who had actually lost in the semi-finals, were reinstated.
For Rowett that felt like sporting justice although he conceded he was shocked by Southampton’s ejection.
“It did surprise me a little bit, I’m not saying it was too severe, but it did feel as though often these things are sort of dampened down a little bit and the punishment never quite fits what you think it’s worth.
“But this one almost felt like it was a massive, massive punishment.
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“But ultimately you don’t want the integrity of the game in question, do you? I know [Marcelo] Belsa had it previously and came away with it almost as a positive, the way he dealt with it.
“To me it’s not an excuse to say it happens in other countries, who cares? who cares you get away with it in other countries but not in this one?
“I think you’re publicly going to be incensed, I think the reality is it does happen a lot.
“I’ve seen it a lot where we’re training and you can see someone peering over a fence and you wonder whether it’s an opposition’s team trying to get some information or whatever that is.
“The only thing I could say with it all is it got to the point where I felt as though whoever won it, unless it was Hull that won the playoff final, it would just rumble on and on and on, in terms of the fairness of the situation.
“I was at the final. I was so pleased when Hull won it, because it just felt as though at least from a sporting perspective, the argument was kind of settled in some ways and the rest of it would get dealt with accordingly.”
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