Tonda Eckert breaks silence over Southampton Spygate after bombshell developments | OneFootball

The German's future has been clarified after the drama following Saints' expulsion from the play-offs

News of the Spygate scandal involving Southampton FC has dominated plenty of headlines in the footballing world for the past month, and the fallout has continued into the first week of June.

After being relegated from the Premier League 13 months ago, Saints' dismal start to the Championship season was rectified in remarkable fashion on the pitch under Tonda Eckert, who swapped his role as Under-21s head coach to become the leader of the first-team at St Mary's after an impressive interim spell following Will Still's dismissal in November.

It has been well-documented that the club's only defeat in all competitions between January 17th and the end of the season came in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

However, their involvement in the play-offs was one of extreme controversy, as despite defeating Middlesbrough over two legs in the semi-finals, a league arbitration panel upheld an initial decision to reinstate the North East club into the final against Hull City - who were eventually promoted at Wembley - and dock Saints four points at the beginning of 2026/27 after admitting to multiple breaches of the EFL's 127th regulation in other matches involving Oxford United and Ipswich Town.

The South Coast outfit have since released a statement responding to the publication of the written reasons behind such sanctions, and so have owner, Dragan Solak and the aforementioned Eckert, whose future has been significantly jeopardised as a result.

Tonda Eckert addresses Southampton FC fans after Spygate scandal

It has been widely reported that Eckert authorised the spying missions himself, even though junior analysts at the club, through the revelation of WhatsApp messages in the aforementioned written findings, clearly were not on board with the decision.

Claims have also emerged that whilst the 33-year-old could still face an FA ban, the majority of Saints players are still wanting him to lead them into next season.

And, with Solak now revealing that he will be granted such an opportunity, unless he isn't to still know the EFL rulebook by heart when staff and players reconvene for pre-season, Eckert has issued a statement to supporters in Hampshire via club channels.

"What I'm going to say is not going to be perfect, but I will try to be as honest and clear as I can be, and I think you deserve that," he began.

"For everything that has happened, I do want to apologise, and I hold my hands up. As a head coach, I am responsible for everything that has happened at this football club and responsible for everything that happens with my coaching staff.

"I do apologise to the supporters, to everyone who has travelled and supported us over so many games, to the ones who have shared emotions game by game, to the ones who have managed to bring us to the very end of the season, where we were supposed to play in the biggest game of the season.

"I apologise to the players who have done absolutely everything they can in the last six months to bring this football club back to where it belongs. They would have deserved to have played in the final and deserved to play it with you, just like they did two years ago and in the (FA Cup) semi-final against Man City," Eckert stated.

"40,000 of you travelling to Wembley to support the team, the chance to bring the last six months to an end that the season would have deserved. It hurts, and it hurts to see the employees of the football club, the staff. It hurts to see the players who have invested so much in the preparation for games, who have invested so much to leave their families at home to prepare for the upcoming games.

"It hurt so much to see their pain on the day the decision came in," he added. "It had such a big impact on not just them and their careers, but their families.

"I apologise to all the clubs that have been involved, and mostly I apologise to our supporters."

Tonda Eckert further clarifies Southampton Spygate missions

Further into the eight-minute-long apology, Eckert added that he completely understands the core principles of the club, and the importance of growing a bond between all associated after a dramatic period of promotion and relegations.

However, he also went on to clarify the difference in preparations for matches during his spell as a coach with Genoa, where training sessions were "always observed" by media and opposing teams, and that the same has applied in his native Germany, although he admits it is no excuse for what has happened at St Mary's due to the EFL's differing guidelines.

Eckert then continued to address the various incidents against Oxford, Ipswich and Middlesbrough.

Ahead of the 2-1 loss at the Kassam Stadium on Boxing Day, the German admitted to sending a staff member to observe training due to a change of system from interim boss, Craig Short, following the sacking of Gary Rowett.

Ahead of the Ipswich clash, the Tractor Boys were training at Eastleigh FC of the National League, and despite being shown footage of the session, Eckert states that he was only shown it two hours before kick-off, and that he asked for it to be stopped and that it had no bearing on the 2-2 draw on April 28th.

The Saints boss then admitted to wanting to know if Middlesbrough's star performer and Championship Player of the Season, Hayden Hackney, would be deemed fit to feature in the semi-final first leg at the Riverside Stadium, and that this was advised Monday, May 4th.

He then claims there is "bitter irony" in how he believes neither semi-final's outcome were impacted by Spygate.

Ultimately, such stances will still split opinion long into pre-season and ahead of 2026/27, where Saints' pre-season, transfer activity and fortunes of the 46-game campaign will all be somewhat impacted by the above events.