New Tonda Eckert ban claim emerges as Southampton await FA verdict | OneFootball

Tonda Eckert has been charged by the FA for his role in the spying case

Southampton will be targeting a top two finish in the Championship next season.

The Saints missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the previous campaign when they were expelled from the play-offs.

The Hampshire outfit were found guilty of breaching the EFL’s rules regarding spying on opposition training sessions, which meant they didn’t get to compete in the play-off final despite earning the right to.

Tonda Eckert had led the team to a 19-game unbeaten run to finish fourth in the table, guiding the club into promotion contention after a difficult first half of the term.

But the German is now being investigated by the Football Association for his role in the spying scandal.

He has been officially charged as part of that investigation, and is now awaiting punishment, with the threat of a ban from football looming.

Tonda Eckert tipped for touchline ban

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Former Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Hackett has claimed that Eckert is likely to only receive a touchline ban, rather than a suspension from the sport as a whole.

He believes that the 33-year-old could miss the opening six games of the new season, albeit he has questioned the reasoning for spying on teams’ training given the level of information already at the coaching staff’s disposal.

"What amazed me about that old case is that, available to his technical staff, is a great deal of information," said Hackett, via Football Insider.

"We, as fans, see sometimes possession stats, passing stats, tackling stats. It's beyond me why someone would want to stand behind a tree with a pair of binoculars to see what they were doing on the training field.

"When you look at the Premier League, which is a global game, or even the Championship being equally covered by television, it is fairly easy for the technical staff.

"They're able to if it's set-piece free kicks, set-piece corner kicks to gather that information.

"Is it going to be six games where he's not on the touchline? It's going to be that level, I would suspect, and the outcome will likely be six games."

It remains to be seen what kind of punishment Eckert faces following his charge from the FA for his role in the spying case.

It would be a huge blow for Southampton if the German was issued a ban from football, which was the punishment handed to Bev Priestman for a similar incident at the 2024 Olympics.

Despite the case against Eckert, the Saints have confirmed in a statement that they stand fully behind the coach as the new campaign draws nearer and nearer.

Southampton have already added a number of new players to their first team squad through the summer market.

This includes permanent deals for Daniel Peretz and Cyle Larin, who spent the previous term on loan at St. Mary’s.

The Championship side have also signed Lewis Dobbin and George Long, with the market open until 1 September.

If Eckert does receive a ban, then that could have an impact on their remaining business, with five weeks now left in the window.

Southampton begin the new campaign on 16 August with a trip to face Watford.

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A touchline ban would be an acceptable outcome for Southampton

Southampton would love to now move on from this spying business and focus all of their attention on the new season and the transfer market.

But if it comes down to it, a touchline ban wouldn’t be the worst outcome for the club, and it’s one they would be likely to accept in the interest of moving on.

A complete ban from football for six months or a year would be a nightmare scenario, and would require a new head coach coming in on short notice before the start of the season.

So in that context, it would be a far more preferable outcome if he was banned from just the touchline for a few games.