The 'Spygate' scandal involving Eckert and Southampton is gathering even more momentum

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The spying scandal involving Southampton FC and its German manager, Tonda Eckert, continues to keep English football on tenterhooks. A flood of new details has now emerged.

Firstly, the EFL published numerous details and facts from the appeal hearing on 20 May. These reveal how opponents of Eckert's staff were systematically and secretly spied on. At the same time, Southampton FC released a detailed statement from its manager, in which he shed light on the circumstances, his own responsibility, and the general practices in professional football from his perspective.

In early May, Middlesbrough FC staff caught an intern from Southampton FC secretly filming their training session. The young scout had been sent by his superiors to spy on their play-off opponents ahead of a potential promotion to the Premier League.

Middlesbrough lodged an official complaint with the English Football League (EFL), which opened proceedings on 13 May and, six days later, expelled Southampton from the competition. The Saints' appeal, heard the very next day, was swiftly rejected.

Southampton v Middlesbrough - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final Second Leg

Chat history revealed: "You're a legend! The manager is thrilled."

The 33-year-old manager and his staff have been found guilty of further spying on Oxford United and newly promoted Ipswich Town.

WhatsApp chat histories now in the public domain show how deeply covert opposition scouting was embedded at Southampton FC.

One junior analyst, sent to Oxford to gather intelligence, told colleagues he saw no way to "say no": "I was an intern and did what I was told."

When he delivered the requested intelligence, his supervisor replied, "You're a legend! The manager is absolutely thrilled."

He was then dispatched to Ipswich; when he raised concerns, a superior replied, "The boss insists that someone has to go there!"

Another member of Eckert's staff eventually blew the whistle, albeit reluctantly. The "spy" who was caught at Middlesbrough's ground messaged colleagues: "I said from the start that I had a bad feeling about this and that it wasn't right, but nobody listened to me."

dragan solak owner fc southampton

The newspaper is calling for his sacking, yet the Saints owner is sticking with Eckert.

The latest revelations have sparked a media storm in England. A Daily Mail commentator demanded, "Deluded Southampton must now sack Tonda Eckert in the wake of the latest damning revelations in the Spygate scandal – the fans of this proud club are being dragged through the mud by this despicable affair, and it is time to part ways with him."

Dragan Solak, Southampton's Serbian owner, disagrees. "I think he deserves a second chance, and I would give it to him," the businessman told the BBC.

Solak chose the subjunctive deliberately, as the English Football Association (FA) is still investigating Eckert, an inquiry that could result in a ban for the former youth coach of Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and 1. FC Köln.

Eckert himself asked for forgiveness in an eight-minute video published by Southampton FC on Tuesday via its channels.

"I would like to apologise for everything that has happened. I take responsibility, because as head coach, the blame lies with me," said Eckert. "I am devastated that, after six months of rebuilding this relationship (with the fans, ed.), the season is now over, and in a way that could not have put us in a worse position than the one we are currently in. I am a young manager, I made a mistake, and I take full responsibility."

A clear message to Eckert: "If you do that again, you'll be the death of me."

Eckert admitted he was unfamiliar with EFL rules but insisted he was not seeking excuses. He argued that watching opponents train was normal procedure and pointed to Pep Guardiola's comments while at Bayern Munich as a precedent.

Club owner Solak stood up for his "super-talented" manager. However, the 61-year-old billionaire also issued a warning to Eckert: "I told him, 'You almost broke my heart. If you do that again, you'll kill me. If I see you in July and you don't know the EFL rules by heart, you can't work for me anymore. We can't afford another mistake.'"

The remark may sound flippant, yet the financial stakes are very real: by missing out on promotion to the Premier League, Southampton missed roughly €230 million in TV revenue.

Until the spying scandal, the Saints' season had been a football fairy tale. After seven straight games without a win, Eckert's side were 15th in the table in mid-January, looking more at the relegation zone than the promotion places. What followed was an almost unbelievable run of 14 wins and five draws in the league, plus an FA Cup semi-final berth after knocking out eventual English champions Arsenal.

A fifth-place finish secured a play-off spot, and a 0-0 draw at Middlesbrough followed by a 2-1 extra-time win in the second leg sent Saints to Wembley to face Hull City. That is, until the truth emerged.

Tonda Eckert's coaching career at a glance