"Dragged through the mud by this appalling scandal!" Shocking revelations in the Spygate scandal involving Tonda Eckert of Southampton FC

In early May, Middlesbrough FC staff caught an intern from Southampton FC secretly filming their training session. Acting on instructions from above, the young scout was monitoring their play-off rivals in the race for promotion to the Premier League.

Middlesbrough lodged an official complaint with the English Football League (EFL), which opened proceedings on 13 May and, six days later, expelled Southampton from the competition. The Saints' appeal, heard the following day, was rejected.

The 33-year-old manager and his staff have been found guilty of further spying on Oxford United and newly promoted Ipswich Town.

Published WhatsApp logs reveal how deeply covert opposition scouting was embedded at Southampton FC.

One junior analyst, sent to Oxford to gather intelligence, told colleagues he saw no way to "say no": "I was an intern and did what I was told."

When he delivered the requested intelligence, his supervisor replied, "You're a legend! The manager is absolutely thrilled."

He was then dispatched to Ipswich; when he raised concerns, a superior replied, "The boss insists that someone has to go there!"

Another member of Eckert's staff later blew the whistle, albeit reluctantly. The "spy" who was caught at Middlesbrough's ground messaged colleagues: "I said from the start I had a bad feeling about this and that it wasn't right, but nobody listened."

The latest revelations have sparked a media storm in England. A Daily Mail commentator demanded, "Deluded Southampton must now sack Tonda Eckert in the wake of the latest damning revelations in the Spygate scandal – the fans of this proud club are being dragged through the mud by this despicable affair, and it is time to part ways with him."

Dragan Solak, Southampton's Serbian owner, disagrees. "I think he deserves a second chance, and I would give it to him," the businessman told the BBC.

Solak deliberately used the subjunctive, as the English Football Association (FA) is still investigating Eckert, an inquiry that could result in a ban for the former youth coach of Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and 1. FC Köln.

Eckert himself asked for forgiveness in an eight-minute video published by Southampton FC on Tuesday via its channels.

"I would like to apologise for everything that has happened. I take responsibility, because as head coach, the blame lies with me," Eckert stated. "I am devastated that, after six months of rebuilding this relationship (with the fans, ed.), the season is now over, and in a way that could not have put us in a worse position than the one we are currently in. I am a young manager, I made a mistake, and I take full responsibility."

Eckert admitted he was unfamiliar with EFL rules but insisted he was not seeking excuses. He noted that scouting opponents' training sessions is standard procedure in the game and pointed to comments made by Pep Guardiola during his time at Bayern Munich.

Club owner Solak stood up for his "super-talented" manager, However, the 61-year-old billionaire also issued a warning to Eckert: "I told him, 'You almost broke my heart. If you do that again, you'll kill me. If I see you in July and you don't know the EFL rules by heart, you can't work for me anymore. We can't afford another mistake.'"

The remark may sound flippant, yet the financial stakes are very real: missing out on promotion to the Premier League cost Southampton roughly €230 million in TV revenue.

Until the spying scandal, the Saints' season had been a football fairy tale. After seven straight games without a win, Eckert's side were 15th in the table in mid-January, looking more at the relegation zone than the promotion places. What followed was an almost unbelievable run of 14 wins and five draws in the league, plus an FA Cup semi-final berth secured via a shock victory over eventual English champions Arsenal.

Finishing fifth, Saints reached the promotion play-offs and, after a 0-0 first-leg draw at Middlesbrough and a 2-1 extra-time win in the second leg, secured a spot in the Wembley final against Hull City. Then the truth emerged.