Key facts
- Southampton manager Tonda Eckert received a six-week ban from all football, suspended until the end of next season.
- Eckert was also fined £28,000 and issued a reprimand by the FA.
- The ban will be activated if Eckert is involved in any further spying incidents before the end of next season.
- Southampton admitted to spying on opponents' training sessions and was expelled from the Championship play-offs.
- The club also received a four-point deduction for the current season.
- Eckert admitted to authorizing the spying incidents.
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has been given a six-week suspended ban from all football activity by the Football Association (FA) for his role in the "Spygate" scandal. The ban, suspended until the end of next season, will be triggered if Eckert is found to have committed any further breaches of rules related to observing other clubs' training sessions.
Eckert, 33, was also fined £28,000 and received a reprimand. The FA's independent regulatory commission considered Eckert's contrition as a mitigating factor. Southampton welcomed the verdict, stating that measures are in place to prevent future errors in judgment.
The scandal led to Southampton's expulsion from the Championship play-offs in May and a four-point deduction for the current season. An English Football League (EFL) commission had previously ruled that the spying was authorized by Eckert and was a "contrived and determined plan from the top down". The EFL had no power to sanction individuals, leading to the FA's involvement.
Details emerged of covert missions where a Southampton intern, William Salt, allegedly filmed training sessions of Middlesbrough, Oxford United, and Ipswich Town in the 72 hours before matches. Salt has since been appointed to a role in Southampton's academy, with the club's chief executive noting the impact the public exposure had on him.