Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has issued an apology for his club’s “Spygate” scandal, but insists that observing opposition training sessions is common practice in his native Germany and during his time in Italy. The 33-year-old, who joined Southampton last summer as Under-21s manager before taking charge of the first team in the autumn, broadcast a video apology on Tuesday, attributing the incident to his ignorance of English football’s rules.

The controversy led to the English Football League (EFL) expelling Saints from last month’s Championship play-offs, and Eckert now faces an investigation into his conduct by the Football Association (FA). The EFL rule specifically outlaws watching opponents train within 72 hours of a match.

Eckert’s defence: A European perspective

Eckert, who previously worked as a youth coach at Cologne and as an analyst for the German national team at the 2014 World Cup, cited his extensive experience in European football as the basis for his actions. He spent four years in Italy, including a stint as assistant manager to Patrick Vieira at Genoa.

“When I worked in Italy for four years, every starting line-up we chose was out in the media before games, and the reason is our training sessions – especially the ones before games – have always been observed by media and opponent teams,” Eckert stated.

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He further claimed that spying is widespread in Germany, referencing former Bayern coach Pep Guardiola’s observations during his 2013-2016 tenure. Guardiola himself, speaking in 2019, noted, “In other countries everyone does it, [but] it’s more difficult here. At Munich there were people with cameras watching what we do. Everyone wants to know everything.”

Indeed, examples from German football support Eckert’s assertion. RB Leipzig manager Ole Werner admitted to deploying drones over opposition training grounds and sending staff to hide in bushes while coaching Werder Bremen. Werder Bremen even had to apologise after one of their video analysts was caught flying a drone over Hoffenheim’s training ground, sparking a police investigation. Former Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic also confessed to disguising himself as a steward to observe a Real Madrid training session in 2013. In 2015, German newspaper Kicker reported that Cologne, where Eckert was then working, had sent an analyst to spy on Hamburg during a training camp in Dubai.

A clash of football cultures

The differing attitudes towards observing opponents highlight a significant cultural divide in football. Many Bundesliga clubs regularly hold open training sessions, which the public can attend. Bundesliga match commentator Kevin Hatchard explained the German perspective to BBC Sport.

“The general feeling is that spying is a side issue and not taken very seriously. There has never been outrage on the same scale as Southampton. Open training sessions are deemed fair game for spying,” Hatchard said. “When somebody is caught spying, the reaction tends to be ‘better look next time you cheeky scamp’, rather then real serious anger and demanding sackings.”

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This contrasts sharply with the reaction in England. Steve Grant, co-host of the Total Saints podcast, described the English response as “a very British thing to clutch our pearls at the concept of fair play [regarding spying] while being happy for our centre-forward to dive in the penalty area.”

Despite Eckert’s background, including a year and a half as assistant manager at Barnsley in League One, Hatchard expressed surprise at the manager’s oversight. “But for somebody who is so detail-oriented in his coaching, I am staggered that Eckert didn’t take the time to think, ‘right, I know this happens more often in Germany, but can I really do it here?’ Once you’re the main guy it’s pretty unforgivable to not think about the gravity of what he was doing, how it would be perceived, and what the consequences may be,” Hatchard told BBC Sport.

Sources: www.bbc.com

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