Tonda Eckert has apologised for orchestrating the spying scandal that led to Southampton being expelled from the Championship playoff final. The club was found to have “seriously violated” competition integrity after observing training sessions of three opponents during the season.
In a video message released by the club, Eckert accepted “full responsibility” and apologised to all clubs involved and to Southampton supporters. Owner Dragan Solak confirmed he will not sack the German head coach, who remains under investigation by the Football Association, and wants him to lead the club into the Premier League next season.
Eckert ordered analysts to observe Oxford United and Ipswich Town during the regular season, and sent an analyst to Middlesbrough before the playoff semi-final first leg. He cited his coaching experiences in Germany and Italy, and Pep Guardiola’s previous comments, as context for the spying missions.
“When I worked in Italy for over four years, every starting lineup was always out in the media before games because our training sessions were observed by media and opponent teams,” Eckert said. “Guardiola has spoken about this at Bayern Munich, that it has been common practice in Germany.”
An intern was asked to spy on Ipswich but refused, so an academy analyst recorded footage instead. Eckert said the spying on Oxford was to check defensive formation changes, and on Middlesbrough to see if Hayden Hackney would play. He insisted it had no effect on sporting performance.
Solak stated: “Tonda’s period as a head coach has been a success so far. Our form during 2026 has been remarkable and we believe he is the man to take us forward. As a board, we are fully behind him and together we have only one objective: we want promotion back to the Premier League.”
