Southampton Football Club owner Dragan Solak announced he will retain head coach Tonda Eckert despite Eckert authorizing a spying campaign that led to the club’s expulsion from the Championship play-offs and a four-point deduction for the 2026–27 season. The English Football League punished Southampton after an independent disciplinary commission found Eckert had orchestrated a “contrived and determined plan from the top down” to observe training sessions of rival clubs, including Oxford United, Ipswich Town, and Middlesbrough.
Solak told BBC Sport he would not dismiss Eckert. “I think he deserves a second chance and I would give it to him,” Solak said. “My full support would be behind him actually, because I think he's a super-talented manager.” He added, “I'm looking at him as a young, extremely talented manager - the guy who took our club when we were 21st in the table and brought us almost to direct promotion.” Southampton had finished fourth in the Championship under Eckert and advanced to the playoff final by beating Middlesbrough before being expelled, forfeiting a potential windfall of at least $270 million in future earnings tied to Premier League promotion.
“I believe Tonda that he didn't know that it was the rule that he was breaking,” Solak said. “Yes, we tried to obtain an information that was not legally allowed,” he acknowledged. Solak argued the punishment was excessive: “Whatever crime you did, you can be sentenced only once. I think we were 'over-sentenced'. The punishment that the club received was severe and completely disproportionate to the mistake that we made. We lost our chance to win £200m.” He noted the spying occurred in three of 46 matches: “It was three times out of 46 games. If he would do it on an industrial level, he would do it on every game. Right?”
Solak compared the offense to player diving during matches: “On the other side, we can see on almost every game, players diving, trying to basically get a penalty or get a red card. That is not fair.” He said the spying was conducted by the club’s analyst department, involving both foreign and British staff. “I think we have a couple of guys that are foreign analysts, so for them you could say probably that they didn't have a clue that this was against the rules,” he said. “And then we have probably five or six British analysts. How come they either didn't know or they didn't tell? I don't know.”
An EFL commission described the use of junior staff to conduct clandestine observations as “deplorable.” A junior employee later said they felt “under extreme pressure” to carry out tasks they considered morally wrong. Solak said he learned of the scheme through social media and sent a message asking, “What the hell is this?” He warned Eckert: “You almost broke my heart. You do it again, you'll kill me. The next time I see you in July, if you don't know the EFL book of rules by heart, you can't work for me. Because, we can't have another mistake.”
The Football Association is investigating the matter and could issue charges against Eckert. “I can support him even if he's banned, but I can't make him manage if he's banned,” Solak said. In a video message to fans, Solak affirmed the board remains “fully behind” Eckert and committed to achieving Premier League promotion.
No independent assessment of Southampton Football Club’s claims was available.