Highlights
- The FA has sanctioned Tonda Eckert with a six-week ban from all football, suspended until the end of the 2027/28 season, plus a £28,000 fine and a reprimand
- Eckert admitted three breaches of FA Rule E3.1 for directing or authorising the observation of Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough training sessions
- He can lead Southampton into Sunday's south coast derby against Portsmouth (12:00 BST, live on ITV and Sky Sports)
- The club were already expelled from last season's Championship play-offs and docked four points this season over the same scandal
The FA's decision
The FA has sanctioned Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert with a six-week ban from all football and football-related activity, suspended until the end of the 2027/28 season, together with a £28,000 fine and a reprimand. The independent regulatory commission announced its decision on Wednesday, nearly two weeks after a hearing on September 24.
Eckert admitted three breaches of FA Rule E3.1. The charges alleged that he acted improperly or brought the game into disrepute by directing or authorising the observation of training sessions at Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough before Southampton played them, in December 2025, April 2026 and May 2026 respectively.
The suspension leaves him free to take charge of Southampton against Portsmouth at St Mary's on Sunday. SportBible reports the ban would only take effect if he were found to be involved in further spying before the suspension ends.
Tonda Eckert, Manager of Southampton, interacts with Samuel Edozie of Southampton following the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Semi Final Second Leg match between Middlesbrough and Southampton at Riverside Stadium on May 09, 2026 in Middlesbrough, England. Ed Sykes/Getty Images
How Spygate unfolded
The scandal began on May 7, when a man was seen filming Middlesbrough's training session two days before the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final. He turned out to be a Southampton first-team analyst intern. The EFL charged the club the next day. Southampton first said the surveillance had not been ordered by club leadership or coaching staff, then admitted it, along with similar filming of Oxford United and Ipswich Town earlier in the season.
Middlesbrough called publicly for Southampton's expulsion on May 15. On May 19, an independent EFL commission threw Southampton out of the play-offs, having finished fourth on 80 points, and docked them four points for this season. The club's appeal was dismissed on May 20, and the commission's written reasons said Eckert had authorised what it called a "contrived and determined plan." Middlesbrough took Southampton's place in the final, where Hull City won promotion, with more than £200 million in television revenue reportedly at stake for the winner.
Who is Tonda Eckert?
Eckert, 33, was born in Neukölln, Berlin, on January 31, 1993. His father is a retired computer scientist who worked in areas including blockchain technology and video surveillance, according to The Times. Eckert studied at the German Sport University Cologne, played amateur football in the German fifth tier, and worked as an analyst for Germany's national team at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup.
He began coaching as an assistant with 1. FC Köln's under-17s, then worked under Marco Rose at Red Bull Salzburg's under-18s, who won the 2016-17 UEFA Youth League. Spells at RB Leipzig's under-19s and, alongside Miroslav Klose, Bayern Munich's under-17s followed, before he moved to England in 2020 as Gerhard Struber's assistant at Barnsley. In January 2022 he joined Genoa as assistant to Alexander Blessin and stayed three and a half years, completing his UEFA Pro Licence.
Southampton appointed him under-21s head coach in July 2025. On November 2 he took over the first team on an interim basis after Will Still was sacked following 16 games, and won his first match 2-1 at Queens Park Rangers. The club made the job permanent on December 5. He was named Championship Manager of the Month for February, March and April 2026, and had won 28 of his first 47 games in charge by early September.
Tonda Eckert, Manager of Southampton, applauds the fans after the Sky Bet Championship 2026/27 match between Birmingham City and Southampton at St Andrew’s at Knighthead Park on September 01, 2026 in Birmingham, England. David Rogers/Getty Images
What Eckert and Southampton have said
Eckert publicly apologised on June 2, the same day Southampton owner Dragan Šolak said he would not sack him. Last month he said he had asked for forgiveness and called the sporting punishment "absolutely unheard of in the history of sports," according to bet365 News, which also reported that he cited spying on opponents as common practice in Germany. The Daily Telegraph reported that he claimed to be unaware it broke FA rules.
Šolak welcomed Wednesday's ruling. "We have already suffered enough," he said, adding that the FA process had been a positive experience. The club earlier called the EFL's sanction "manifestly disproportionate to every previous sanction in the history of the English game."
What happens next
Eckert will be on the touchline when Southampton host Portsmouth at midday on Sunday. Both league derbies between the clubs were drawn last season. Southampton go into the match carrying the EFL's four-point deduction, and the suspended ban stays over Eckert until the end of the 2027/28 season.
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