Southampton boss Tonda Eckert charged by FA over ‘Spygate’ scandal

Southampton’s head coach Tonda Eckert has been charged by the Football Association over the ‘Spygate’ scandal.

Saints were thrown out of the Championship play-offs by the EFL in May over the affair and docked four points for the coming season.

The club admitted spying on a training session held by play-off opponents Middlesbrough in May, and on sessions at Ipswich and Oxford earlier in the season.

On May 21 the FA confirmed it was investigating the matter, and on Wednesday it announced charges had been brought.

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Misconduct

The FA said Eckert had been charged with three breaches of Rule E3.1 in relation to “misconduct” between last December and May this year.

A statement added: “It’s alleged that the head coach acted in an improper manner and/or brought the game into disrepute by directing and/or authorising the observation of training sessions of Oxford United FC, Ipswich Town FC and Middlesbrough FC ahead of fixtures between these clubs and Southampton FC in December 2025, April 2026 and May 2026 respectively.”

The FA said Eckert had until July 28 to provide responses.

Southampton issued a statement pledging to “co-operate fully and openly” with the FA in respect of the charges and adding: “The club remains fully supportive of Tonda and his staff as we work towards our ambition of returning to the Premier League.”

Eckert issued a statement on June 2 accepting responsibility for what had happened.

An EFL arbitration panel published the written reasons behind its sanctions against the club on June 1, finding Southampton had conducted “a contrived and determined plan from top down to gain a competitive advantage”.

The panel found junior staff at the club felt “pressurised to do the observations that Mr Eckert and the senior coaches wished them to do”.

Dismissed

The written reasons stated the junior analyst who was challenged by Boro staff at their Rockliffe Park training facility on May 7 – two days before the sides’ play-off semi-final first leg match – “felt under extreme pressure (to attend the session) due to the context of the importance of the game for the club”.

The written reasons added: “He feared that he might be dismissed by the club or it might otherwise adversely affect his career if he did not do it. So, he went.”

Southampton’s owner Dragan Solak said on June 2 he had no intention of sacking Eckert over the ‘Spygate’ row.

Solak told BBC Sport: “I have to believe, honestly, and I believe Tonda, that he didn’t know it was the rule that he was breaking.”

He added: “My personal opinion, and the opinion of the board, is that he is a manager who deserves to be backed by us and to be supported by us.

“I think he deserves a second chance and I would give it to him. My first support would be behind him, actually, because I think he is a super-talented manager.”

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