Southampton feel they have received sufficient punishment over the ‘Spygate’ scandal as an independent regulatory commission prepares to hear charges against coach Tonda Eckert this week.
Saints were removed from last season’s Championship play-offs by an independent EFL panel after admitting to spying on three opponents’ training sessions. The penalty denied them a chance at promotion to the Premier League worth at least £200 million.
The same panel also handed them a four-point deduction for the current campaign, with further disciplinary measures looming after Eckert was charged with misconduct by the Football Association in July over the same incidents.
Eckert told the BBC the club has already faced a “big, big punishment”, while Southampton chief executive Phil Parsons said: “What we hope as a club is they (the FA panel) actually recognise where we are at the moment, and what we’ve already been through, because I think it has to be taken into account.
“I really feel like we’ve taken enough. We’ve been hurt. I think it’s one of the largest sanctions ever when it comes to football, or even sporting, history.
“We lose money not being in the Premier League, but (local) businesses lose money. We had to spend a huge amount on legal fees, and it really impacts the club even further. We don’t want to be seen as a victim of this. We need to get on. We’ve had our cards dealt.”
Eckert admitted staff were sent to monitor sessions at Oxford and Ipswich during the regular season, and Middlesbrough before their play-off semi-final in May, where a Southampton intern was confronted by Middlesbrough staff, exposing the scandal.
The German stated he was unaware that spying breached EFL rules.
The EFL panel found younger staff felt pressured to carry out the activity, describing it as “a contrived and determined plan from top down to gain a competitive advantage”.
In a BBC interview published on Monday, Eckert said: “It’s been a big, big punishment. Absolutely unheard of in the history of sports.
“And it’s tough for me to say that because it concerns me. I’m judging on myself, not an outside situation. But I’ve asked for forgiveness for what I’ve done. I’ve apologised publicly.
“I think the punishment has been very hard on the club for the last season.”
