‘I made a mistake’ – Eckert apologises for Spygate after receiving suspended ban
Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert says he “made a mistake” with his actions leading to Spygate, after receiving a suspended ban.
The Saints were expelled from the 2025/26 Championship play-off final and given a four-point penalty for the start of the 2026/27 campaign having admitted three breaches of EFL regulations for spying on Middlesbrough and two other opponents.
Eckert accepted full responsibility and was charged by the FA with three breaches of Rule E3.1 in relation to “misconduct”, with the German given six-week suspended sentence from all football-related activity and a £28,000 fine. Southampton released a statement saying: “this now brings a conclusion to a regrettable period of our history”.
Speaking for the first time since the verdict, the 33-year-old held his hands up for his actions.
“I made a mistake and I said that relatively quickly and then I think you just have to accept the consequences,” Eckert said.
“The only thing for me was to give my version of the story and I’m happy the commission listened.
“In the end, if you make a mistake, it’s not for me to judge the consequences, I have to take whatever comes my way.
“I’m very happy we go into Sunday into one of the biggest games of the season and we have clarity.
“And that’s not just for me, that’s for everyone involved in this football club.”
Eckert also spoke on how destabilising Spygate has been for himself, the club and the fans.
“It’s tough. It changes your life. If I would say it’s been all easy, it’s not.
“But you have to find a way. You have to come to a conclusion at one point in the summer of how you want to continue.
“That first decision was not for me but for the club. And it that very moment, then it’s for me to see if I have the energy to be the right one to bring that project forward.
“Once you make that decision, there’s no excuses.”
Southampton sit in 13th place, and take on 19th place Portsmouth in the South Coast derby with both sides separated by two points.
