New developments over the lengths Southampton went to orchestrate their ‘Spygate’ scandal can be revealed with new WhatsApp messages seen, implicating their head coach Tonda Eckert.
Southampton were thrown out of the Championship play-off final just over a week ago and deducted four points from next season after being found guilty of charges of spying on opponents in the second tier.
The south coast club had pleaded guilty to charges of spying on Oxford United and Ipswich Town in the regular season, and then Middlesbrough before the play-off semi-final.
Junior members of staff have told an independent disciplinary commission that they were ‘under extreme pressure’ from Eckert to spy on rivals.
In one text exchange, a junior intern received second-hand praise from Eckert for his reconnaissance mission on an Oxford United training session before their December clash. The intern’s boss told him: ‘You legend. Manager loved it.’
Reflecting on how the whole incident played out, the intern told the independent disciplinary commission in his evidence: ‘I didn’t really have an option and wasn’t provided an opportunity to say no. I was an intern and was doing what I was told.’
A Southampton analyst hiding behind a tree to spy on Middlesbrough’s training session
In response to the publication of the written reasons, Southampton released a statement admitting culpability.
‘The club accepts that aspects of our initial response to the situation were not treated with the level of scrutiny they required at the time,’ it read. ‘In hindsight, we wish this had been managed differently from the outset and this represented an error of judgement for which we take responsibility.’
However, they added: ‘The club is concerned by the weight placed on assertions that junior staff were pressurised into involvement, when some of the most serious allegations appear not to have been supported by direct evidence. That said, junior employees should never have been placed in a position where they felt under pressure, and the club accepts responsibility for that failure of leadership and oversight.’
They concluded: ‘Southampton Football Club will now reflect carefully on the published reasons, review its internal processes and ensure that governance, oversight and decision-making procedures are strengthened as a result.
‘Our responsibility now is to acknowledge what has happened, take ownership of the lessons it brings, and use this experience to strengthen our judgement, discipline, and integrity moving forward together as a club.’
MORE TO FOLLOW
