Windass calls for playoff reset with Wrexham replacing Southampton

Wrexham forward Josh Windass has called for the Championship playoffs to be restarted with his team included, following Southampton’s expulsion from the competition for spying offenses.

Southampton were removed from the post-season tournament by an independent commission after admitting to three spying incidents, including one against playoff semifinal opponents Middlesbrough earlier this month.

The club has confirmed it will appeal the sanctions, with a league arbitration panel scheduled to convene Thursday. The panel could uphold the original decision or reinstate Southampton, which also had four points deducted for next season by the initial panel.

Windass, whose Wrexham side finished one place outside the playoff spots, argued the four-team competition should be completely reset with Wrexham taking Southampton’s place. “This Southampton story is one of the maddest I’ve seen,” Windass wrote on an Instagram story. “But why isn’t the play-offs starting again with the 4 other teams? Boro v Hull would have been the semi!! Confused.”

Removing Southampton from the equation would have placed Wrexham against third-placed Millwall in the semifinals.

The independent commission reinstated Middlesbrough, which will now face Hull in Saturday’s playoff final, pending the outcome of Southampton’s appeal.

Middlesbrough’s players returned to the club’s Rockliffe Park training base Wednesday in anticipation of the Wembley showpiece, although the EFL noted the schedule remains subject to change due to the appeal.

The EFL announced Wednesday morning that if the final is contested between Middlesbrough and Hull, kickoff will move to 3:30 p.m. If Southampton’s appeal results in them facing Hull, the match will start at the originally scheduled 4:30 p.m.