News Focus
- Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has apologised for the Spygate scandal but insists spying is common in his native Germany
- The Football Association has opened an investigation into the 33-year-old coach
- Southampton were removed from last month’s Championship play-offs for breaking EFL rules
- Eckert claims open training sessions in the Bundesliga make spying easier and more accepted
- Experts say cultural differences exist, but Eckert should have known English football’s stricter rules
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has defended his actions in the recent Spygate scandal by claiming that watching opponents train is normal practice in German football. The 33-year-old released a video apology on Tuesday after his club was thrown out of the Championship play-offs.
Eckert told fans that during his four years working in Italy, every team sheet was leaked to the media before matches. He said this happened because rivals always watched training sessions. He also mentioned that Pep Guardiola faced similar issues when coaching Bayern Munich between 2013 and 2016.
“[Guardiola] has spoken about this in his time at Bayern, that it has been common practice in Germany to observe training sessions,” Eckert explained. He admitted he did not know the English Football League (EFL) bans clubs from spying on opponents within 72 hours of a match.
The young coach now faces an investigation by the Football Association. He could receive a ban if found guilty of misconduct.
Football experts agree that spying is easier in Germany. Many Bundesliga clubs hold open training sessions that fans can attend. In theory, rival staff members can also watch these sessions and take notes. Guardiola confirmed this in 2019, saying people with cameras watched his Bayern team train.
There have been several famous spying cases in Germany. Ole Werner, now manager of RB Leipzig, admitted to using drones over rival training grounds when he coached Werder Bremen. In one case, a Bremen video analyst flew a drone over Hoffenheim’s training ground. Police investigated this as a possible aviation offence.
Former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic also confessed that he dressed as a steward to watch Real Madrid train before a Champions League match in 2013.
However, Bundesliga commentator Kevin Hatchard says German football does not treat spying as a serious crime. “The general feeling is that spying is a side issue and not taken very seriously,” he said. “When somebody is caught spying, the reaction tends to be ‘better luck next time’ rather than real anger.”
Hatchard believes the Bundesliga needs clear rules against spying to stop the practice. He notes that Eckert’s case is different because the EFL has strict rules that the Southampton boss clearly broke.
Eckert said he wanted to give “context of the football world I grew up in” rather than make excuses. However, this is not the first spying scandal linked to his career. In 2015, German newspaper Kicker reported that Cologne sent an analyst to spy on Hamburg during a training camp in Dubai. Eckert worked as a youth coach at Cologne at that time.
During the 2014 World Cup, French manager Didier Deschamps stopped a private training session after spotting a drone overhead. Eckert worked as an analyst for the German national team during that tournament.
Some critics say Eckert should have known English rules better. He spent 18 months as assistant manager at Barnsley in League One. Steve Grant, host of the Total Saints podcast, called the plan “stupid and ill-conceived.”
Hatchard agrees there is a cultural gap between the two countries. But he finds it surprising that such a detailed coach did not check if spying was allowed in England. “Once you’re the main guy it’s pretty unforgivable to not think about the gravity of what he was doing,” he said.