Eckert given Saints' owner's backing as head coach apologises for Spygate scandal

Tonda Eckert has taken full responsibility "for everything that happened" in the Spygate scandal, apologising to players, staff and supporters - but he will remain as Southampton head coach after recieving back from chairman Dragon Solak.

In a statement, Eckert said: "For everything that's happened, I do want to apologise and I hold my hand up because as a head coach I am responsible. I am responsible for everything that has happened in this football club.

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

"I apologise to the players who have done absolutely everything that they can, absolutely everything in the last six months to bring this football club back to where it belongs."

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Eckert's apology and backing from owner Solak follows publication on Monday of the written reasons why Southampton's appeal against their expulsion from the Championship play-offs and a four-point deduction for next season was dismissed.

Southampton admitted to spying on Oxford, Ipswich and Middlesbrough during the 2025/26 season.

The club's conduct was described as a "contrived and determined plan from the top down" by the League Arbitration Panel while the written reasons revealed WhatsApp messages in which Eckert "loved" the information a junior analyst intern gathered when spying on one of his team's opponents.

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"A reprimand is considered appropriate because of the way in which junior members of staff were put under pressure to carry out activities which they felt were, at the least, morally wrong," the panel concluded.

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In Eckert's eight-minute video apology, released by Southampton on Tuesday, he added: "I am a young coach, I have made a mistake and I take full responsibility.

"It hurts and it hurts to see the employees of the football club, it hurts to see 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 recover and to prepare for the games coming up, who had hurt so much.

"To see their pain on the day the decision came in because it has such a big impact not just on them and their career but also on their families.

"I want to thank Dragan and the board for the support especially in times like this. With everything that I have said, without script and without predefined statement, speaking to you from the heart, I hope that you have an overview of what has happened over the last weeks and I hope that over time you can understand and forgive."

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In a statement released prior to Eckert's, Saints owner Solak admitted the German head coach had made a "mistake" but backed him before targeting promotion to the Premier League next season.

Solak said: "It's important to apologise for how we handled the matters in the early stages of the process. We have to be better. Mistakes have been made and we will learn from them. Let me take this opportunity to reaffirm how committed I am to bringing success to St Mary's.

"As I have said, I want to close this chapter and look ahead. And I want to look ahead together as one, including Tonda and his staff.

"Tonda's period as our head coach has been a success so far. Our form during 2026 has been remarkable and we believe he is the man to take us forward. As a board, we are fully behind him and together we only have one objective: we want promotion back to the Premier League.

"We all together will continue to work hard this summer to give you a team you can be proud of and a club that is growing every year. I promise you that we'll bring to you at the end of the summer the team that will take you out of your seats and excitement will run high against St Mary's."

On Monday, the 39-page written reasons set out why Southampton spied on Oxford, Ipswich and Middlesbrough, along with what type of information was discovered.