Southampton manager handed suspended ban over Spygate scandal

The head coach of Southampton FC has been given a suspended ban of six weeks and a fine of £28,000 over his role in the Spygate scandal.

The Football Association announced its decision concerning Tonda Eckert after the German manager admitted misconduct charges relating to the observation of opponents' training sessions.

The club admitted using junior staff to spy on a training session held by play-off opponents Middlesbrough in May, as well as on sessions at Ipswich and Oxford earlier in the season.

Southampton subsequently beat Boro in their clash and advanced to the last round, but were expelled from the Championship play-off final and docked four points for the next season.

However, Mr Eckert escaped an immediate ban and will remain in post, including for this Sunday's match against rivals Portsmouth.

A statement from the governing body read: "The suspended sanction will come into effect in the event he is found to have committed a breach of Rules or Regulations by requesting, authorising, taking, or using information from any observation of the training of another club, in whatever guise that observation may take."

While the punishment may draw strong opinions from across the game, Southampton said in a statement that it "brings a conclusion to a regrettable period of our history".

The club also claimed that "measures have been put in place to ensure that such errors in judgement never happen again at our club".

'A positive experience'

Rule E3.1 of the FA code states that "a participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game" and "not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute".

It also prohibits "violent conduct, serious foul play", and "threatening, abusive, indecent, or insulting words or behaviour".

The English Football League Championship (EFL) also carried out its own investigation that labelled Southampton "deplorable" for pressuring an intern to spy on their rivals.

The EFL only had the power to charge clubs, not individuals, during the probe.

Reacting to Wednesday's announcement, Southampton owner Dragan Solak described the FA process as "a positive experience" which showed Mr Eckert as a "good person who made poor decisions".

But he said "the same cannot be said for the EFL process, and the way they have subsequently treated us is not something we will forget".

He said: "We have already suffered enough, and we appreciate the panel's recognition of that.

"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 Europe's most exciting young coaches, and with this distraction removed, I am confident he can lead the team to a successful season.

"I'd like to thank our fans for standing by us and showing the team so much support during a time when we have needed them more than ever."

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In June, Eckert posted an apology video in which he said: "I am responsible for everything that has happened."

He continued: "I do want to apologise and I hold my hand up because as head coach I am responsible.

"I am responsible for everything that has happened at this football club."

He added that spying was common in other countries, though it did not "excuse anything that we have done".

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