An incident against Middlesbrough in the second leg of Southampton’s play-off semi-final game at St Mary’s put centre-half and stand-in captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis’s chances of being allowed to feature in the final at risk.
Just before half-time, referee Andy Madley stopped the game after a complaint came from Boro defender Luke Ayling, who allegedly received a discriminatory comment from Harwood-Bellis.
After the clash, Madley spoke to managers Tonda Eckert and Kim Hellberg on the sideline, which only appeared to escalate tensions, with the Southampton boss acting angrily before being restrained by the fourth official, before exchanging fiery words with Middlesbrough’s Swedish head coach.
It immediately became clear post-match, after the situation came into light, that Harwood-Bellis’s place in the final had suddenly been thrown into doubt.
Harwood-Bellis put himself at unnecessary risk
It was the words of Harwood-Bellis himself that sillily put his place in the final at risk, with fiery and discriminatory comments allegedly made towards Boro defender Luke Ayling.
After the game, Saints boss Tonda Eckert told the media, "I don't have an understanding of the situation yet.
"But I have seen that the two of them spoke straight after the game and there was obviously a lot of emotions, but they seemed fine - so I need to check with him [Harwood-Bellis] what happened exactly."
But following a review of referee Andy Madley's report, no action will be taken after Ayling chose not to pursue the allegation - meaning Harwood-Bellis will be available for selection in the play-off final.
While it seems a situation that could have been prevented, despite the heat of the game, Southampton fans will be breathing a sigh of relief that a player so important to them will be available to play Hull City at Wembley.
An early final boost
Harwood-Bellis has been vital for Southampton this season and is one of the first names on the Saints' team sheet under head coach Tonda Eckert.
"We back ourselves to beat anyone, home or away," he told BBC Radio Solent ahead of the play-offs.
"There's a relentlessness in the team, the manager and the staff at the moment, it's where we're living, right at the top, every single day in what we do.
"No one's taken days off, we've just been at it and it shows - even the loss at Wembley which was a sucker-punch but we've come out with so many positives that we can handle ourselves. We're fit, we're strong, we're just a different level at the minute."
Amid the Spygate controversy at Southampton, it’s a huge boost for them to have their most important defender ready for the final. They’ll have to be at their best to overcome Hull, but it’s one last step that the team is quite clearly capable of making.
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