Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert has been formally charged with misconduct by the Football Association over the club's "Spygate" affair, with three breaches of FA rule E3.1 alleged to have occurred between December 2025 and May 2026. The charges follow an FA investigation launched after Southampton were expelled from the Championship play-offs in May, once an independent disciplinary commission found Eckert had authorised a "contrived and determined plan from the top down" to spy on rival clubs. Eckert has until next Tuesday to respond, and the case adds further scrutiny to a manager the club has publicly continued to back.

The FA alleges Eckert directed or authorised the covert observation of training sessions involving Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough, conduct it says brought the game into disrepute; the EFL, which can only sanction clubs rather than individuals, had already stripped Southampton of their play-off place over the same episode, reinstating Middlesbrough, who went on to lose the final to Hull City. Southampton, who start next season with a four-point deduction and open away at Watford on 16 August, said they and Eckert "acknowledge" the charges and will "co-operate fully and openly" with the FA. Owner Dragan Solak has said he will not sack Eckert despite calling it a "mistake", and Eckert himself has apologised while insisting the squad has moved on with "smiles" returning to the club.