Southampton manager Tonda Eckert will keep his job despite helping orchestrate the Spygate controversy that cost the club a chance at promotion to the Premier League, owner Dragan Šolak said on Tuesday.
Southampton were kicked out of the second-tier play-offs last month after admitting to repeatedly spying on opponents’ training sessions and were also given a four-point deduction for next season.
In the written statement of reasons released Monday, an arbitration panel exposed Eckert’s influence in the scandal, saying it was «a concocted and determined plan from above to gain a competitive advantage» and that analysts who conducted the unauthorized recordings «felt pressured to make the observations that Mr. Eckert and the senior coaches required of them.»
However, Šolak said in a video message to fans published on Tuesday that the club believes Eckert “is the man to take us forward.”
“As a board we fully support him,” said the Serbian owner, “and together we have only one goal: we want to get promoted back to the Premier League.”
In an interview with the BBCŠolak said that Eckert “deserves a second chance and I would give it to him.”
Southampton qualified for the play-off final – after beating Middlesbrough, one of the clubs it spied – before being expelled. That robbed the Saints of the chance of promotion to the top flight and a guaranteed windfall of at least $270 million in future revenue.
Published on June 2, 2026
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