Southampton have welcomed the FA’s decision to hand head coach Tonda Eckert a six-week suspension from football, a £28,000 fine and a caution after he was charged with three breaches of the rules over the Spygate scandal last season.
The saints were expelled from the play-offs of the championship by EFL in May after admitting charges of spying on Middlesbrough ahead of their semi-final tie, which the club won 2-1 on aggregate thanks to an equal-score victory in the second leg.
It was also found that they had committed crimes before championship games against Ipswich Town and Oxford United.
Tonda Eckert FA punishment: full statement from Southampton
Southampton “welcomed the result.” “We hope this now brings to an end an unfortunate period in our history,” the club said.
“Measures have been put in place to ensure that these errors of judgment do not happen again at our club.”
The suspended ban will run until June 2028 and will be imposed if Eckert is found guilty of “soliciting, authorizing, taking or using information from any training observation of another club, in any form that observation may take”.
Owner Dragan Solak echoed the relief expressed at Southampton’s statement. “We have suffered enough and we appreciate the panel’s recognition,” the Serbian billionaire said.
“We are confident the manager has learned from this matter and a suspended sentence allows him to continue in his role.
“I firmly believe that Tonda is one of the most exciting young managers in Europe and, with this distraction removed, I am confident that he can lead the team to a successful season.
“I would like to thank our fans for standing by us and showing so much support to the team at a time when we needed them more than ever.
“The FA process has been a positive experience. Tonda has been given the opportunity to be open and honest with the court, and the court has been able to see that he is simply a good person who made bad decisions.
“The same cannot be said for the EFL process and the way we have been treated afterwards is not something we will forget.
“However, now is the time to look ahead to what I believe will be a great future for our club.”
Spygate: What punishment did Southampton receive?
As well as being kicked out of the play-off final against eventual winners Hull City, Southampton received a four-point deduction this season. They are currently 13th, with 10 points from eight games.
The club appealed the EFL’s decision, claiming the punishment was “manifestly disproportionate”. This claim was dismissed by an arbitral tribunal.
Tonda Eckert’s role in the Spygate scandal
Eckert was at the center of the drama and had shown his frustration as he walked out of his post-match press conference after the second leg against Middlesbrough when he was asked if he was a cheater.
The German, who oversaw a remarkable upturn in Saints’ form after replacing Will Still in November 2025, cleared the spying in what an independent disciplinary panel described as “a contrived and determined plan from the top down”.
How did Tonda Eckert respond to the spying scandal?
Eckert apologized for his actions in an emotional social media post in June.
Speaking on the club’s social media, he said: “What I’m going to say won’t be perfect, but I’ll try to be as honest and clear as I can.
“I think you deserve it. For everything that has happened, I want to apologize and I raise my hand because as a coach, I am responsible.
“I am responsible for everything that has happened in this football club, I am responsible for everything that has happened in my coaching staff.
“I apologize to the fans, to everyone who traveled with us, who supported us in so many games.
“To those who have shared emotions match after match, who have managed to take us to this end of the season.
“We were supposed to play the most important game of the season. I apologize to the players, who did absolutely everything they could.
“In the last six months they have done absolutely everything to get this club back on track. They deserved to play in the final.
“I apologize to all the clubs involved and, above all, I apologize to our fans.”
Southampton owner Solak to Eckert
Solak said he would stand by the assaulted 33-year-old in the immediate aftermath of the controversy.
Speaking to BBC SportSolak said: “He deserves a second chance and I would give him. My full support would be behind him because I think he is a super-talented coach.
“I think Tonda didn’t know that was the rule he was breaking.
“My personal opinion, and the opinion of the board, is that he is a manager who deserves to be supported by us and supported by us.
“Obviously I will ask the team for advice. I will seek advice from the players, from the fans. But yes, if it is ultimately my decision, he stays.”
Solak said he hoped Eckert would learn from his mistake and not repeat it.
He added: “I told him, ‘You almost broke my heart. Do it again, you’ll kill me. Next time I see you in July, if you don’t know the EFL rulebook by heart, you can’t work for me. We can’t make another mistake.”
“I really hope he learns from this experience and goes on to have an amazing career.”
