Fan's anger at Spygate after flying from Australia

Ian Mcauley flew from Australia to see the match that will not take place [BBC] A football fan who flew to the UK from Australia has spoken of his "anger" and "disappointment" at the decision that saw his club being kicked out of the play-off final. Ian Mcauley, 71, has been a Southampton fan since he was seven, and it was his life-long love for the club that made him take a 22-hour flight from his home in Perth to see them play. The English Football League (EFL) charged Saints with spying on the training sessions of Oxford United and Ipswich Town, and filming Middlesbrough during their preparation for the play-off semi-final.

Mcauley was in the air when the decision to kick Southampton out of the final and only found out when he landed. When he found out the club was going through to the playoff final, Mcauley said he had been "ecstatic" and "jumping around in the front room". "I was just over the moon because I was very fortunate enough to come to the previous one.

"My wife arranged that for me and we got tickets. She said to me 'What's the chance of you ever going to Wembley and see Southampton win? ' and I thought about that and I said 'Probably quite remote'.

" He booked 2 plane tickets after the semi-final victory over Middlesbrough on 12 May, to go and watch the final with his cousin, which cost him $6,500 (£3,449). "I left Perth Wednesday night at 10 and I landed in Dubai and a report came through from probably 20 different people saying the game was off. " After the semi-final victory over Middlesbrough on 12 May, Mcauley boked two plane tickets to go and watch the final with his cousin [BBC] Mcauley says he still remembers the "excitement" of going to a match for the first time with his father: "Once the game was over, that was it, I'm forever hooked.