Tonda Eckert reveals 'police protection' he needed after Southampton FC spygate scandal

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·21 Juli 2026

Tonda Eckert reveals 'police protection' he needed after Southampton FC spygate scandal

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert has explained how the police were involved after all the fallout following the spygate scandal involving Middlesbrough.

Southampton are concentrating on the 2026/27 season after a dramatic previous campaign that saw them miss out on promotion.

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Even though Saints beat Middlesbrough over two legs in the play-offs, they were denied a place at Wembley after spying on Boro in the build-up.

As well as costing Southampton a shot at promotion, the offence, combined with the admission it had gone on before, means the south coast side will start this season on -4 points.

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Despite everything that had gone on, Southampton have decided to stick by Tonda Eckert, with the German having done an outstanding job since he was named as Will Still’s successor.

Tonda Eckert opens up on ‘Spygate’ fallout

The FA are continuing to investigate Eckert, but Southampton are now focusing on the new season.

Yet, the former U21 boss was always going to be quizzed on the matter as Saints returned to pre-season, and, speaking to Sky Sports, Eckert opened up on the situation, as he revealed the police had to get involved at points.

“It's been an emotional summer. I can't lie, obviously, when the news broke towards the back end of last season, it's tough. It's not easy in that very moment. It's not easy to look into the eyes of the players. They're just so disappointed, and so many emotions coming out.

“You get so many threats at one point. You have police protection at one point; you can't drive a car. It's tough to deal with that for the very moment.

“When things calmed down with time, and I went back home, different challenges at home, you have a moment to reflect. I think that over the months there's also been a lot of positives that we can take into next season. After a couple of weeks, that excitement comes back in to go again and show what we are about. That's been the feeling since coming back into the training ground. We are in the second week of pre-season now. Players have come back in very good shape, with a smile on their face and ready to go again.”

Tonda Eckert will be determined to repay Southampton’s faith this season

Obviously, this would have been a worrying situation for Eckert, and the fact the police were involved suggests things had gone too far.

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Overall, though, it’s fair to say that the football world won’t have too much sympathy for the Saints chief due to everything that had gone on last season, where he was responsible.

Southampton were dealt a severe punishment for that, and some connected to the club will feel they have more than paid the price for the incident.

Right now, Eckert and the club will be hoping that everyone can move on, although they won’t have full closure until the FA have decided on any sanctions for the head coach.

From Eckert’s perspective, he will appreciate the support that he has been given by the hierarchy, and he will be desperate to repay that support by winning promotion to the Premier League.

It’s shaping up to be a very difficult Championship promotion battle, but, even with the deduction, Southampton will feel they have the quality to finish in the top two, or a play-off place at the very least.