Southampton chief executive says club punished enough as manager awaits FA hearing
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has accepted responsibility for Spygate and will learn at an FA hearing this week whether he will be banned, while the club says it has been punished enough.
The Full Story
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Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has taken responsibility for the Spygate scandal and says the club must move on as he waits for an FA hearing that will decide if he is banned. The hearing is expected this week and follows a controversy that saw Southampton expelled from last season's Championship play-off final.
Eckert, the German coach at the centre of the affair, has kept his job for now. The FA has charged him over the spying operation, and the hearing could lead to a suspension. Speaking before the hearing, he said he had spoken to the FA about everything that happened and was ready for a decision.
Eckert said: 'I think we are all happy when it's done at one point. It's been a long time now since the events have come up. 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. We have big ambitions as a football club and in order to reach them we need to move on.'
Southampton were expelled from the Championship play-off final after a junior analyst covertly filmed Middlesbrough training 48 hours before the teams met. The club had also spied on two other clubs. Southampton lost the chance of promotion to the Premier League and were docked four points for this campaign.
Eckert said he was not aware of the rules but was charged by the FA. He has asked for forgiveness and apologised publicly. He also said the punishment had been very hard on the club, pointing to the four-point deduction at the start of the new season. He added that the rest of the matter was not for him to decide.
Southampton chief executive Phil Parsons said the club had been punished enough after it admitted spying on opponents' training sessions. His comment came as the club tried to draw a line under the affair.
Moving on has not been straightforward. Last week, Wrexham's co-owners aimed a light-hearted dig at Southampton on social media before the two teams met, joking about a Southampton pickleball team. Some Southampton fans have also tried to make light of the scandal.
Southampton have made an encouraging start to the new campaign, but the future of their manager remains in the balance. Those in charge at St Mary's have not ruled out changing manager if a ban is long enough. Asked how long a ban would have to be, one club figure said they would decide when they got to it, adding that they hoped the FA would look at the case sensibly.
With Eckert set to learn his fate, there could be more turmoil ahead for Southampton as they try to move on from the scandal.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| A junior Southampton analyst covertly filmed Middlesbrough training 48 hours before the teams met in the play-offs. | |
| An FA hearing this week will decide whether Southampton manager Tonda Eckert is banned over the Spygate affair. | |
| Southampton lost the chance of Premier League promotion and were docked four points for the season. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West led with the manager's exclusive interview and his call for the club to move on, then used the same package in a later bulletin with a stronger top line from chief executive Phil Parsons that the club had been punished enough. The coverage focused on Eckert's personal accountability, the possible ban and the uncertainty over his future, while also noting Southampton's encouraging start and a Wrexham social media joke. It did not include any response from Middlesbrough, the other spied clubs or the FA beyond the hearing timing.
- “I think we are all happy when it's done at one point. It's been a long time now since the events have come up.”
- “I've asked for forgiveness for what I've done. I've apologised publicly.”
- “We have been punished enough”
Broadcast Timeline
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