Southampton sorry for ‘bad judgement’ as EFL charge them for ‘Spygate’

Southampton admitted to the ‘Spygate’ scandal, which saw them kicked out of the Sky Bet Championship play-off final in May.

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert apologised for his “bad judgement” in the affair, which involved the club observing training sessions of Middlesbrough, Oxford, and Ipswich.

Saints were found to have spied on the Yellows on December 23 and 24 ahead of their trip to the Kassam on Boxing Day.

The scandal came to light after Southampton were caught watching a Middlesbrough training session before the first leg of their play-off semi-final.

Despite beating Middlesbrough over two legs to reach the play-off final, they were disqualified, and the North East side was reinstated.

Middlesbrough went on to lose to Hull.

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Southampton Saints playing against Oxford United (Image: Mike Allen)

The EFL charged Southampton after it was revealed they had also spied on sessions involving Oxford and Ipswich.

Previous details of Tonda Eckert’s side spying on Oxford back in December had been revealed, stating that the Saints boss wanted information on the formation of caretaker head coach Craig Short’s Yellows.

The U’s had sacked former head coach Gary Rowett on December 23 and were under the leadership of caretaker boss Craig Short for the festive fixture.

Under a new head coach, there were certainly questions at the time over whether the U’s would change formation after struggling with a back five under Rowett which saw him sacked after the 1-0 away defeat to Charlton Athletic the game prior.

Short then opted for a back four against Southampton which led Oxford to a 2-1 victory despite the now-known spying of the visitors.

As punishment, Southampton will start the upcoming season with a four-point deficit.

Mr Eckert admitted that some of the public criticism has been “tough to read”.

He told BBC Radio Solent: “It hurts for a number of different reasons.

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Oxford United’s Stanley Mills (right) celebrates scoring their side’s second goal of the game against Southampton (Image: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)

“It’s tough to read some of the things that are out there, I’ve held my hand up for this judgement on something I have authorised.”

The St Mary’s club published a statement on their website, as well as a statement from the chairman – he says he will not sack Eckert following the offences – and the head coach on social media.

The Saints were booted out of the Championship play-off final after being found to have breached EFL rules by spying on Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town, and Oxford.

After beating Boro in the semi-final, Southampton were replaced by the Teesside club in the final at Wembley who were then beaten 1-0 by Hull City, the Tigers securing promotion to the Premier League.