Southampton's Tonda Eckert awaits FA Spygate ruling after 'unheard of' punishment

Saints boss and club braced for decisive hearing

More than four months since the Spygate scandal erupted, Southampton manager Tonda Eckert's wait to discover his fate for authorising an espionage campaign is almost over. In the coming days, a decisive Football Association hearing will take place, after the German coach was charged with misconduct in July.

Spying on three clubs has already cost Southampton the chance of promotion to the Premier League — worth £200m — after they were expelled from the Championship play-off final. An EFL panel also docked the club four points for this season. Now Eckert could be banned.

'I've asked for forgiveness'

The 33-year-old apologised in June after an EFL independent disciplinary commission found he had orchestrated a “contrived and determined plan” to spy on Oxford United, Ipswich Town, then Middlesbrough before the play-off semi-final. Having insisted he was unaware it breached EFL rules, and that the spying had no impact on performances, Eckert was backed by Southampton.

“I would lie if I say that the summer has just been easy,” Eckert said. “Of course, if you care deeply about your profession, about the football club, there's nothing that prepares you for that. There just isn't.”

Speaking about the FA's investigation, he added: “I've had the chance to sit down and just talk the FA through everything that happened. And now it's up to them to make a decision. I don't really have any emotions towards that.”

On whether the club has been punished enough, Eckert chose his words carefully: “It's been a big, big punishment. Absolutely unheard of in the history of sports. And it's tough for me to say that because it concerns me. I'm judging on myself, not an outside situation. But I've asked for forgiveness for what I've done. I've apologised publicly.”

'We've taken enough' — Parsons' warning

In his first interview on the case, Southampton chief executive Phil Parsons insists any further punishment would be “really tough to take”.

“We don't know what the FA will actually hand out,” Parsons said. “It could be a long ban. It could be a short ban. It could be a suspended sentence. What we hope as a club is they actually recognise where we are at the moment, and what we've already been through, because I think it has to be taken into account. I really feel like we've taken enough. We've been hurt.”

Parsons pointed to the wider impact: “This isn't just about the club, this is about people. We lose money not being in the Premier League, but [local] businesses lose money. We had to spend a huge amount on legal fees, and it really impacts the club even further. We don't want to be seen as a victim of this. We need to get on. We've had our cards dealt.”

Parsons also revealed the club may appeal if the ruling goes against them and firmly denied having approached other coaches. He said the club's ownership “want” to back Eckert, who is only contracted until the end of the season.

A precedent from Paris

The most recent precedent for this case came at the 2024 Olympics women's tournament, when Fifa banned Bev Priestman — Canada's head coach — from all football for a year, after opponents New Zealand were spied on. Parsons insists “the Canadian case is very different”.

Middlesbrough's head of football Kieran Scott said Southampton's behaviour had been “disgusting”. An arbitration panel detailed how a junior analyst intern said he felt under “extreme pressure” to conduct the spying “at the direction of senior personnel”.

'A lot of people would have cracked'

Parsons defended the decision not to sack Eckert, pointing to his record: “Tonda also picked up the team in around 20th place in the Championship, and without him and his team we wouldn't have been in the play-off positions, and I think that deserves a bit of loyalty.”

“OK, he has made a mistake and he's paid for that dearly. This has been really tough for him as a person already. I admire how strong he's been through this process because a lot of people could have cracked, the amount of pressure he was under.”

For his part, Eckert says he is “very grateful for the support of the club because that could have been very different”. With an encouraging start to the new season — without the four-point deduction they would be fourth rather than 13th — Southampton are desperate to close the door on the saga and move on.