Tonda Eckert has escaped any major punishment from the Football Association for his involvement in Southampton’s Spygate saga last season.
The Saints head coach has been given a suspended six-week ban until the end of next season.
He has also been fined £28,000 after admitting three FA charges relating to misconduct during Southampton’s spying scandal.
Last campaign, Southampton were kicked out of the Championship play-off final and docked four points this term having admitted three breaches of EFL regulations after being caught snooping on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, who would go on to lose to Hull in the final, and two other teams.
Eckert, who accepted full responsibility and attended an FA hearing at the start of the international break, is now free to focus in his role as head coach which continues with the Saints’ clash against bitter rivals Portsmouth on Sunday.
A statement from the governing body read: ‘Tonda Eckert subsequently admitted the charges, and an independent Regulatory Commission imposed a six-week suspension from all football and football related activity, which is suspended until the end of the 2027-28 season, a £28,000 fine and a reprimand following a hearing.
‘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.’
Southampton statement
In light of the news, Southampton released a statement of their own, welcoming the decision.
‘We hope this now brings a conclusion to a regrettable period of our history, and measures have been put in place to ensure that such errors in judgement never happen again at our club,’ the club said.
‘We want to take this opportunity to thank the supporters for their unconditional backing throughout this process.’
Southampton owner Dragan Solak said: ‘I’m pleased that the independent panel has come to a decision and that we have an outcome.
‘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.
‘The FA process has been a positive experience. Tonda has been given the opportunity to be open and honest with the panel, and the panel has been able to see that he is simply a good person who made poor decisions.
‘The same cannot be said for the EFL process, and the way they have subsequently treated us is not something we will forget.
‘However, now is the time to look forward to what I believe will be a great future for our club.’
The English Football League declined to comment.
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