Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert has been hit with three counts of misconduct by the Football Association following the club’s Spygate scandal.
The charges relate to covert operations in which Championship training sessions involving Middlesbrough, Ipswich, and Oxford were illicitly observed last season.
Eckert, who is 33 years old and German, has until Tuesday to respond to the FA charges brought against him.
The case could set a significant precedent, with the FA drawing comparisons to the worldwide ban handed to former Canada women’s head coach Bev Priestman.
Priestman was banned from football globally for 12 months in 2024 after authorising the use of a drone to spy on New Zealand’s training during the Paris Olympics.
Southampton were already punished by the English Football League in May, when an independent disciplinary commission found the club guilty of three counts of football espionage.
That ruling stripped Eckert’s team of their right to appear in the playoff final and handed them a four-point deduction heading into the new Championship season.
The EFL has no power to sanction individuals directly, so the case against Eckert was referred to the FA, which launched a long-running inquiry and spoke with him at length in early July.
The FA has a range of punishments available, from a formal warning to a heavy fine or outright suspension, though its jurisdiction is limited to England unless it requests Fifa extend any ban internationally.
A precedent for such international requests exists, as the Italian FA successfully petitioned Fifa in 2023 to apply Sandro Tonali’s 10-month betting suspension worldwide when the midfielder was at Newcastle.
William Salt, the intern first-team analyst caught filming Middlesbrough’s training on a mobile phone before the playoff semi-final, has not been charged by the FA and has since been offered a permanent role in Southampton’s academy.
Southampton owner Dragan Solak has publicly vowed to stand by Eckert and has maintained he will not sack him, though a lengthy ban could alter that position.
In a club statement issued on Wednesday, Southampton said: “Tonda and the club will continue to cooperate fully and openly with the FA.”
The statement continued: “Our focus remains on preparations for the 2026-27 season. The club remains fully supportive of Tonda and his staff as we work towards our ambition of returning to the Premier League.”
Eckert has previously apologised to supporters and acknowledged he should have known EFL regulations specifically prohibited spying on rivals’ sessions.
He recently told BBC Radio Solent: “I’ve held my hand up for this judgment on something I have authorised. I am responsible and I apologise for bad judgment.”
Eckert also spoke of the “bitter irony” that Southampton’s three spying missions had “no impact” on his team’s planning or performances, despite the enormous consequences that followed.
The FA issued only formal warnings to then Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa and a club analyst for similar conduct involving Derby back in 2019, but regulations have since been tightened considerably.