Southampton boss Tonda Eckert has issued a public apology over the club's explosive spying scandal, admitting he must take responsibility for the controversy that ultimately wrecked Saints' promotion hopes.
The German coach broke his silence in a lengthy statement eight-minute video through club channels after Southampton were dramatically expelled from the Championship play-offs for observing rival training sessions.
An independent disciplinary panel concluded that Eckert had authorised the operation, with Southampton later admitting offences involving Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and Oxford United.
The fallout has been severe, with Saints denied the opportunity to compete for promotion and handed a four-point deduction for the start of next season.
Now Eckert has accepted accountability for the affair and apologised directly to those affected.
"I will try to be as honest and clear as I can be," he said.
"For everything that has happened, I do want to apologise and I hold my hand up because as head coach I am responsible.
"I am responsible for everything that has happened at this football club."
Southampton boss Tonda Eckert has issued a public apology over the club's explosive spying scandal, admitting he must take responsibility for the controversy that ultimately wrecked Saints' promotion hopes
|SOUTHAMPTONFC/X
A personal message from Head Coach, Tonda Eckert. pic.twitter.com/dHlDdF6XFd
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) June 2, 2026
The scandal centred around a young Southampton intern who was sent to observe a Middlesbrough training session ahead of the clubs' play-off semi-final clash.
The EFL described the conduct as "deplorable" and criticised the pressure placed on a junior member of staff during its investigation.
As criticism mounted, Eckert apologised not only to the clubs involved but also to Southampton supporters.
"I apologise to all of the clubs that have been involved and mostly I apologise to our supporters," he said.
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Tonda Eckert also attempted to explain the thinking behind his actions, insisting practices involving observation of training sessions are far more common elsewhere in European football
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The 33-year-old also attempted to explain the thinking behind his actions, insisting practices involving observation of training sessions are far more common elsewhere in European football.
Eckert spent several years working in Italy before arriving in England and claimed teams frequently gathered information on opponents through open training environments.
"When I worked in Italy for over four years, every starting line-up that we have chosen for the games was always out in the media before games," he explained.
"The reason is that our training sessions, especially the ones before games, have always been observed from the media and have always been observed by opponent teams that we came up against."
He added that former Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola had previously spoken about similar practices in Germany.
However, Eckert stressed he was not using those examples as an excuse.
"I don't want to say this to excuse anything that we have done," he said.
"I just want to give you context in the way that I grew up in the football world."
Southampton owner Dragan Solak has broken his silence on the club's explosive spying scandal by insisting head coach Tonda Eckert will keep his job despite admitting he made a serious error in judgement | GETTYDespite the damaging findings, Southampton owner Dragan Solak has made it clear he intends to stand by his manager.
Eckert's position has come under scrutiny since the disciplinary commission found he had sanctioned the operation, but Solak believes the coach deserves another opportunity.
The Saints owner told the BBC: "I have to believe, honestly, and I believe Tonda, that he didn't know it was the rule that he was breaking."
Solak added: "My personal opinion, and the opinion of the board, is that he is a manager who deserves to be backed by us and to be supported by us.
"I think he deserves a second chance and I would give it to him.
"My full support would be behind him, actually, because I think he is a super-talented manager.
"I truly hope that he will learn from this experience and he will achieve an incredible career in his life."