Tonda Eckert’s Southampton future uncertain as FA spygate investigation continues

The FA’s investigation into Southampton’s spying operation last season has left manager Tonda Eckert’s position unclear ahead of the new Championship campaign.

• The English Football League expelled Southampton from the Championship playoff final in May and deducted four points for the coming season after a club intern spied on a Middlesbrough training session.
• Southampton and Eckert admitted to the EFL that the manager authorized similar espionage against league opponents Oxford and Ipswich.
• Owner Dragan Solak stated that Eckert had apologized and deserved a second chance, while the EFL commission said the club formed a “contrived and determined plan from the top down” to gain illicit advantage.
• The FA has interviewed Eckert, who could face an individual 12-month ban from all football activity if a precedent set by Fifa in the Canada drone-spying case is followed.