Tonda Eckert and Phil Parsons speak out ahead of FA verdict on Southampton’s Spygate scandal

Tonda Eckert and Phil Parsons speak out ahead of the FA verdict on Southampton’s Spygate scandal, which takes place this week.

Ahead of Wrexham’s game with Southampton, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds poked fun at Spygate in a video in collaboration with Firefox.

Two months ago, the FA charged Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert with misconduct and potentially bringing the game into disrepute.

He was charged with three breaches of FA Rule E3.1 in relation to misconduct between December 2025 and May 2026. We are yet to find out the punishment.

As reported by Alfie House, Tonda Eckert was asked about it, saying: “I’ve seen it, it doesn’t change anything. Of course the whole situation is not particularly funny for me, but that’s all there is to say. The players are focused and have been for weeks now.”

Wrexham’s Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds poke fun at Southampton’s Spygate scandal

When asked if he is expecting an FA decision during the international break, Eckert said, as per Alfie House: “Yes.”

Asked if he is expecting a touchline ban: “Let’s see, it’s a situation that has dragged on for a long time and I think we will have some clarity soon.”

And this week, Tonda Eckert’s hearing over his FA charges is due to take place on Thursday, and an outcome expected to be made by the end of the international break.

 

Wrexham v Southampton.

Tonda Eckert completely putting to bed the claims that German people don’t have a sense of humour. pic.twitter.com/vb7Ryk9h3Y

— Craig Jones 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@craigyjones17) September 18, 2026

 

Eckert and CEO Phil Parsons have featured in an interview with BBC Sport, published on Monday.

Eckert said: “It’s been a big, big punishment [from the EFL]. 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. And to go into a new season on minus four. And the rest is not for me to decide.”

Check oiut more in the video interview below…

CEO Phil Parsons said: “We don’t know what the FA will actually hand out. It could be a long ban. It could be a short ban. It could be a suspended sentence.

“What we hope as a club is they 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.

“This isn’t just about the club, this is about people. 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.”

When told that the club could have sacked Tonda Eckert back in May, Parsons replied: “Yeah, but Tonda also picked up the team in around 20th place in the Championship, and without him and his team we wouldn’t have been in the play-off positions, and I think that deserves a bit of loyalty.

“OK, he has made a mistake and he’s paid for that dearly. This has been really tough for him as a person already. I admire how strong he’s been through this process because a lot of people could have cracked, the amount of pressure he was under.”

On whether the club have looked at other managers in case Eckert is banned long-term: “No, no, no. We’re not looking like that. The ownership want to back Tonda. We don’t want to be seen as a victim of this. We want to get on. We’ve had our cards dealt.”

Check out more in the video interview below…

Here’s how fans reacted as Tonda Eckert and Phil Parsons speak out ahead of the FA verdict on Southampton’s Spygate scandal…

@RobSc0tt: His reputation has been tarnished. It backfired and they missed out on promotion. Minus four to start the season. The three sides that deserved promotion ultimately won promotion. It’s been fun, but I hope any further punishment isn’t severe. It’s time to move on.

@GabSutton: I don’t see further punishment to be required, myself. The bloke did something wrong, he’s apologised and the club have accepted the consequences which I think are sufficient. If he could take back what he did, he would. I think the mind-set and circumstances behind his actions can be partially understood, without condoning the actions themselves. It’s something some of the most celebrated managers in world football have done – which absolutely doesn’t make it any more acceptable, but it does offer a degree context around the possible sub-culture that may have led Tonda down this path. I think you can recognise that it came from a win-at-all-costs mentality, a burning drive to find any sort of gain, and at the same time say the behaviour he adopted and encouraged was completely unacceptable, especially within the context of English football culture. So, yes, what he did was totally wrong, and shouldn’t be tolerated at any level – and it hasn’t been. At the same time, even further punishment feels excessive to me. At some point you have to draw a line under the saga and trust people: to learn from the experience, and to grow to become better in the future.

@saintlavoo: Agree with everything Tonda has said here, however, I have a feeling the FA will use this to set a precedent. I’m expecting a hefty ban. This also feels really short-sighted and poor management from the board. Surely contingency planning has happened. Assume this is Parsons just publicly backing Tonda.

@THESAINT_SFC: The FA took months to get to this point. Southampton have already been punished by the EFL. Now we finally find out what they want to do with Tonda Eckert. Just get the verdict out there its taking the piss now jesus #SaintsFC

@LeBro88: All this PR coming out from the club about Tonda is worrying. Feels like they are expecting a bad outcome and are desperately trying to sway the narrative. Also wonder if the decision has taken so long because the FA have had to be sure on legality of a ban #saintsfc

@RobPUSB: I don’t really like Southampton that much for what they did but to sanction them any further after points deductions and PO exclusions, 4+ months after it all happened, would just be stupid. An example was made of them, now it’s time to move on.