Not long after the ‘Spygate’ scandal resulted in Southampton being disqualified from the play-offs, Saints manager Tonda Eckert has issued an apology
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has broken his silence over the ‘Spygate’ scandal(Image: X/SouthamptonFC)
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has asked for forgiveness for the infamous Spygate scandal. The Saints were disqualified from the play-off final after admitting to multiple breaches of EFL rules which included spying on one of Middlesbrough’s, Ipswich Town’s and Oxford United’s training sessions.
As well as being expelled from the £200million Wembley showpiece against Hull City, the Hampshire side have also been levelled with a four-point deduction which will be implemented next season.
Junior members of staff at the Saints recently told an independent disciplinary commission that Eckert put them “under extreme pressure” to secretly spy on other sides.
The saga was described as a “contrived and determined plan from the top down” by the commission. Eckert has since apologised for the saga and asked his players and supporters to forgive him.
In a video uploaded by the Saints’ social media team, he said: “When I worked in Italy for over four years, every starting line-up that we chosen was always out in the media.
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“That was because our training sessions had always been observed by opponent teams we come up against, Guardiola spoke about this from his time at Bayern Munich.
“I don’t want to say this to explain it but the way I grew up in football, there’s different rules in England and the EFL, I should have known them.”
He also added: “I am a young coach, I have made a mistake and I take full responsibility. I’d like to thank the board for support in times like this, for everything that I have said, without script and without pretty fine statement, speaking to you from the heart.
“I hope you have an overview of what has happened and I hope over time you can understand and forgive. I hope to see you soon. I am responsible for everything that happened. I apologise to the players.”
Southampton owner Dragan Solak has insisted he will not be dismissing Eckert, despite the disrepute the club have been dragged into as a result of the incident. Three different clubs’ training session were spied on by a club intern, who was sent out to watch the sessions by Eckert.
Nevertheless, Solak insisted he will keep Eckert in situ. He told BBC Sport: “My full support would be behind him actually, because I think he’s a super-talented manager.
“I believe Tonda that he didn’t know that it was the rule that he was breaking. 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 will obviously seek advice from the team. I will seek advice from the players, from the fans. But yes, if it’s ultimately my decision, he stays.”
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