{"id":2439,"date":"2026-06-02T08:35:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T08:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2439"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:35:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T08:35:26","slug":"southampton-sticking-by-manager-eckert-after-spygate-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2439","title":{"rendered":"Southampton sticking by manager Eckert after Spygate controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE – Southampton\u2019s coach Tonda Eckert reacts during the FA Cup semifinal soccer match between Manchester City and Southampton in Manchester, England, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo\/Kin Cheung, File( (Kin Cheung\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

SOUTHAMPTON, England \u2014 Southampton manager Tonda Eckert will keep his job despite helping to orchestrate the Spygate<\/a> controversy that cost the club a chance of promotion to the Premier League, owner Dragan \u0160olak said on Tuesday.<\/p>

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Southampton was expelled<\/a> from the second-tier Championship playoffs last month after admitting to repeatedly spying on opponents\u2019 training sessions and also given a four-point deduction for next season.<\/p>\n

In its written reasons published on Monday, an arbitration panel laid bare the influence of Eckert in the scandal, saying it was \u201ca contrived and determined plan from top down to gain a competitive advantage\u201d and analysts who carried out the unauthorized filming \u201cfelt pressurised to do the observations that Mr. Eckert and the senior coaches wished them to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, \u0160olak said in a video message<\/a> to fans published on Tuesday that the club believes Eckert \u201cis the man to take us forward.\u201d<\/p>

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\u201cAs a board, we are fully behind him,\u201d the Serbian owner said, \u201cand together we only have one objective \u2014 we want promotion back to (the) Premier League.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with the BBC, \u0160olak said Eckert \u201cdeserves a second chance and I would give it to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southampton qualified for the playoff final \u2014 after beating Middlesbrough, one of the clubs it spied on \u2014 before getting expelled. That deprived the Saints of the chance of promotion to the top flight and a guaranteed windfall of at least $270 million in future earnings.<\/p>

Read more Vancouver Canucks hire Manny Malhotra as head coach<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Southampton owner Dragan \u0160olak says manager Tonda Eckert will keep his job despite helping to orchestrate the Spygate controversy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSouthampton sticking by manager Eckert after Spygate controversy - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2439\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Southampton sticking by manager Eckert after Spygate controversy - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Southampton owner Dragan \u0160olak says manager Tonda Eckert will keep his job despite helping to orchestrate the Spygate controversy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2439\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-02T08:35:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/5066b01cc6c57f3a74b721b2a0fcaf5b.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1507\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1005\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Southampton sticking by manager Eckert after Spygate controversy\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T08:35:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439\"},\"wordCount\":323,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c46b9cd6c6d00f8046f7cb1e90f6635d.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439\",\"name\":\"Southampton sticking by manager Eckert after Spygate controversy - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c46b9cd6c6d00f8046f7cb1e90f6635d.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T08:35:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2439#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c46b9cd6c6d00f8046f7cb1e90f6635d.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c46b9cd6c6d00f8046f7cb1e90f6635d.jpg\",\"width\":1507,\"height\":1005,\"caption\":\"FILE - Southampton's coach Tonda Eckert reacts during the FA Cup semifinal soccer match between Manchester City and Southampton in Manchester, England, Saturday, April 25, 2026. 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