Southampton manager Tonda Eckert will remain on the training ground after the Football Association imposed a suspended six-week ban over the club’s spying case during the Premier League promotion play-offs.
Suspended ban for Southampton manager
Eckert has been handed a six-week suspension from all football activity, but it will not come into force unless he commits a further offence before the end of next season.
- The German coach may continue working with Southampton while the sanction remains suspended.
- He has also been fined £28,000, equivalent to around €33,000.
- Eckert had said he did not know the spying practice was prohibited.
Promotion play-off case
The punishment follows the incident that saw Southampton thrown out of the promotion play-off final. A member of Eckert’s coaching staff was discovered at Middlesbrough’s training centre ahead of their semi-final tie.
During the subsequent investigation, Southampton admitted that opposition teams had also been watched during the course of the season. The club had already received a four-point deduction to be applied in the current campaign, alongside its removal from the play-offs.
A warning hanging over the season
The FA’s decision leaves Eckert with a clear condition attached to his continued work at Southampton: any repeat offence before next season is finished will activate the six-week ban. For now, he stays in post, though the club’s promotion campaign has already carried a costly price.
