Simon Jordan drops fresh Tonda Eckert ban prediction as Southampton await decision | OneFootball

Simon Jordan does not believe that Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert should be banned as punishment for the Spygate saga.

Former Crystal Palace owner and talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan does not believe that Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert should be banned, as the club have already been punished enough for the Spygate saga.

It has been a decent start to the season for Southampton in the Championship, but off-field events are once again dominating the headlines at St Mary's, and it is set to be a crucial week as Eckert prepares to learn his fate.

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert facing nervous wait ahead of Spygate decision

Action Images

After taking over from Will Still in November, Eckert led Southampton to a fourth-placed finish in the Championship last season, and they secured their place in the play-off final with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Middlesbrough in their semi-final tie.

However, the Saints were expelled from the Wembley showpiece after they were found to have spied on Boro ahead of the first leg at the Riverside Stadium, and they later admitted to also observing the training sessions of Oxford United and Ipswich Town during the regular season.

Southampton were also given a four-point deduction for this season, and the repercussions of the Spygate affair did not end there, as Eckert was charged with misconduct by the FA in July, with a hearing expected to take place this week to determine whether there will be any further consequences for the 33-year-old.

When asked if he feels a ban would be excessive, Eckert said that he had "asked for forgiveness" and "apologised publicly" for his actions, while he also claimed that the punishment the Saints have already received had been "very hard", but it remains to be seen whether he could face a suspension.

After their six-game unbeaten run came to an end with a 2-1 defeat at Wrexham on Saturday, Southampton are 13th in the table heading into the extended international break, three points from the play-offs and five points behind second-placed West Ham United.

Simon Jordan delivers Tonda Eckert ban verdict amid Southampton uncertainty

Action Images

While Jordan believes that Eckert will have to be sanctioned by the FA, he insisted that the German should not be banned, claiming that Southampton have already been given an "extreme" punishment for Spygate.

When asked if the Saints have suffered enough, Jordan said on talkSPORT: "They're two different things really, aren't they?

"There's the club and the individual.

"He's apologised, I didn't think he thought he'd done anything wrong, so I suppose he's apologising because he's been told to.

"My understanding of what he felt was that he hadn't done anything wrong and wasn't aware of it.

"If he did it in the first place, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

"He probably thinks it's a stupid rule and wasn't one that applied to him or one that he had any necessity to adhere to.

"I said at the time I thought the sanction was disproportionate, and the club have suffered.

"They've also had a points penalty this year, so they would have been sitting third or fourth in the league this year, which tells you that the man can manage without spying because his team are producing outcomes on the field.

"They've got a clearly capable manager here.

"It depends what they've done internally with him

"If I was managing it internally, I would look towards the FA commission, who might be looking to make a name for themselves.

"If you follow the line of what the club has been sanctioned, he would be in the Tower of London by that reference point.

"The only way the disciplinary panel can really go after him and really do something awful to him like taking him out of the game for a significant period of time is if they want to make a point and make a name for themselves.

"The club has been sanctioned, I would suspect that he internally has had some significant challenges with his ownership and the management of the club."

"My view is that they'll have to sanction him to some extent, but I don't think it should extend to him being taken out of the game," Jordan continued.

"Southampton have made a decision about their employee.

"The FA's jurisdiction should be over the club, the club has been sanctioned, and, as a result of that, the manager has bene sanctioned as well.

"The club should sanction the manager themselves, and I'm not entirely sure that the governing body needs to do it besides the necessity for the governing body to be seen to do something."

"I felt, and still feel, that Southampton were treated remarkably harshly," Jordan added.

"You can't double dip, you can't now take their manager out as well, so I hope they don't.

"I don't think that's right."

Action Images

It is difficult to disagree with Jordan that the action taken against Southampton by the EFL was disproportionate, and some will argue that being removed from the play-off final and docked four points is a sufficient punishment for Spygate.

However, others will feel that, having personally authorised the spying missions, Eckert deserves some form of individual sanction, and it is possible that he could be handed a touchline ban or even a suspension from football.

With the season now well underway, banning Eckert would cause significant disruption for the Saints and risk derailing their campaign, and, as he has frequently acknowledged his mistake and apologised for his role in Spygate, the FA should opt for a more lenient punishment.