Southampton boss Tonda Eckert given suspended six-week ban over spying allegations

Tonda Eckert has been suspended for six weeks, with the punishment suspended, and fined £28,000 by the Football Association over his alleged involvement in a spying case involving Middlesbrough.

The Southampton manager was charged by the FA with bringing the game into disrepute. The case relates to allegations that he was involved in the unauthorised filming of opposition training sessions, a matter which previously led to Southampton being sanctioned and removed from the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League.

Eckert attended a hearing at Wembley Stadium on 24 September before the FA announced its decision on Wednesday.

Southampton are due to play Portsmouth in the English Football League Championship on Sunday.

The EFL ruled in May that Southampton should be excluded from the Championship play-offs and deducted four points from their total for the 2026-2027 season.

The club had admitted committing “several breaches” involving the unauthorised filming of rival teams’ training sessions. One of those incidents concerned Middlesbrough’s preparation for the two sides’ meeting in the play-off semi-final.

Although Southampton defeated Middlesbrough on the pitch, the EFL reinstated Middlesbrough in the final in place of Southampton. Middlesbrough went on to face Hull City, while an EFL arbitration panel rejected Southampton’s appeal and upheld all of the sanctions imposed on the club.

The league’s investigation was limited to disciplinary action against clubs and did not give the EFL the power to charge individuals. As a result, the FA waited for the league’s proceedings to conclude before opening its own investigation into Eckert.

The FA subsequently brought three charges against Eckert for alleged breaches of rule E3.1, covering the period from December 2025 to May 2026.

The charges relate to his alleged role in “directing and/or monitoring” the training sessions of Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough.

FA rule E3.1 states that everyone involved in football must act at all times in the best interests of the game. It also prohibits conduct that is improper or capable of bringing the game, or its reputation, into disrepute.