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Eckert free to stay as Southampton boss as Spygate ban suspended - Published Tonda Eckert is free to continue as Southampton manager after being given a suspended ban for his role in the Spygate scandal. A Football Association (FA) independent regulatory commission handed the German a six-week ban from all football, but suspended it until the end of next season. Eckert has also been given a £28,000 fine and reprimand but avoided a lengthy ban that could have cost him his job. The FA had proposed a three-month ban, but the commission gave credit to Eckert for what they called "considerable mitigation in this matter, most particularly around the genuine contrition". The FA is yet to confirm whether it will appeal. In a statement, Southampton welcomed 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." Saints owner Dragan Solak said the club had "already suffered enough". "We appreciate the panel's recognition of that," he said. "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." Solak said the FA process had been a "positive experience", but criticised the English Football League (EFL), saying "the way they have treated us is not something we will forget". Saints were expelled from the Championship play-offs in May after admitting spying on training sessions involving Oxford United, Ipswich Town, and Middlesbrough before the play-off semi-final. They were also handed a four-point deduction for this season. An English Football League (EFL) independent disciplinary commission ruled at the time the espionage was authorised by Eckert and was a "contrived and determined plan from the top down". The 33-year-old apologised in June - claiming he was unaware the practice was banned and that it had no impact on his team's performances - but the FA charged him with misconduct, and a hearing took place at the end of last month. Eckert has been sanctioned for three breaches of FA Rule E3.1. The six-week ban from all football activity would be triggered if he was found to be involved in any other spying between now and the end of next season. Eckert was appointed permanent Southampton manager in December 2025 after taking interim charge when they were 21st in the Championship. They finished the season in fourth place. Saints, who face local rivals Portsmouth this weekend, are 13th in the Championship this season with four wins from their eight matches so far. The FA did not charge Leeds United's former manager Marcelo Bielsa after the club were found guilty of spying on Derby in 2019, instead issuing a formal warning. The EFL fined Leeds £200,000 - which Bielsa said he paid - and introduced a rule prohibiting any club from observing a rival's training session within 72 hours of a match between them. The most recent precedent for this case came at the 2024 Olympics women's tournament, when Fifa banned Bev Priestman - Canada's head coach - from all football for a year after opponents New Zealand were spied on. Key findings from the report - Eckert arranged spying on Oxford to establish whether they were playing a back four or a back five under a new manager. - In the Ipswich case, the panel accepted that Eckert did not initiate the move to obtain CCTV footage of their training session. - For the Middlesbrough semi-final, the panel accepted Eckert's evidence that he sent someone to the training ground to establish whether Boro midfielder Hayden Hackney was fit to play. - The panel was "entirely satisfied" that Eckert was not aware the actions were in breach of the EFL rules or 'morally wrong'. - The commission had "no hesitation in rejecting any suggestion of a systemic or organised course of conduct". - "Spying on an opponent is a very serious offence", the panel said, while noting "that this does not prohibit observation of training outside of these hours". - The panel found Eckert to be "a particularly impressive witness", who has "reflected very deeply and seriously on what has happened" and "his level of contrition was as deep and meaningful as could reasonably be expected". - The panel was asked to consider that a ban of three months may cost Eckert his job - and concluded that this would "unquestionably be the equivalent of a further sanction being imposed" on the club. "We consider that this is a clear and compelling reason to suspend that part of the sanction which comprises the ban from all football and football related activity," the report said. Recap: What did Southampton do? It was the morning of Thursday, 7 May. Middlesbrough were at their Rockliffe Park training base preparing for the game against Southampton 48 hours later. The spy - Southampton intern William Salt - is said to have parked at the golf club, then walked a couple of hundred yards down a road that leads to a raised area of ground. Sources told the BBC that Salt stood pointing his mobile at the training session, while wearing in-ear headphones. Middlesbrough staff believe he may have been live-streaming the session via a video call. A member of Middlesbrough's staff approached, say BBC sources, but the person would not identify himself. He then quickly deleted some content on his phone before running into the golf club. He jogged into the toilets, changed his clothes and hurriedly left the site. Middlesbrough's photographer took photos and matched him to a photo on the Southampton website. One of those pictures was subsequently made public. Boro were furious and quickly reported the incident to the EFL, which charged Southampton with breaking two regulations. During the investigation, details emerged about the club watching training sessions involving Oxford and Ipswich, in addition to filming Middlesbrough as they prepared for the first leg of their play-off semi-final. Southampton did not win any of the three games - they lost 2-1 at Oxford, drew 2-2 at home to Ipswich and 0-0 at Boro. Salt has since been appointed to a permanent role at Saints in the club's academy. Southampton told the BBC "he's been through a tough time". "When your photo is put out to the public, that is something tough to deal with," chief executive Phil Parsons told the BBC last month. "A lot of people probably underestimated how that could have impacted a young lad so we've got a job to make sure that he's looked after in his early career. But he's a talented boy as well. I get good feedback and he's got a good role at the club." - 'I've asked for forgiveness' - Eckert and Southampton braced for Spygate verdict - Published21 September - Southampton owner will not sack head coach Eckert - Published2 June - Southampton expelled from play-offs for spying - Published19 May Follow Southampton content on BBC Sounds Pre-match, post-match and topical Saints content Subscribe and listen for everything you love about the Saints
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