“It could no longer happen without the police either”: German coach Tonda Eckert received death threats after spying scandal | Goal.com

Veröffentlicht am 02 Aug 2026 | Lesezeit: 3 Minuten

In a detailed interview with kicker, the coach opened up on the fallout from the scandal that cost the club promotion at the end of last season and for which the manager took responsibility.

Asked directly by kicker whether he had received death threats, Eckert replied unequivocally: "Yes, it could no longer be handled without the police. I do not want to go into details, only this much: I was advised not to drive myself any more, but to sit in the back of the car instead. That was very difficult."

The 33-year-old Eckert, who almost transformed Southampton from relegation candidates into a Premier League promotion side and was allowed to keep his job despite the Spygate scandal, added: "It was a situation no coaching course prepares you for. No training explains how to react when, for security reasons, you are suddenly supposed to sit in the back seat. As I said, it was very difficult."

Elsewhere, he said he received broad support from across football. "After the EFL decision (to disqualify Southampton from the play-offs, ed.), I received many messages, including from coaches in England and from the Bundesliga. Also from well-known colleagues with whom I had never previously had any personal contact," he revealed in the kicker interview. He said that had been a comfort in this extremely difficult situation.

Southampton were thrown out of the EFL (English Football League) play-offs in May shortly before the decisive promotion final against Hull City.

A member of the Saints' analysis team had been caught secretly filming opponents Middlesbrough in training while hidden behind a tree. That is prohibited under English Football League (EFL) regulations 72 hours before a match, and Southampton were found to have committed three such offences in total. The EFL came down hard. Alongside the disqualification, Southampton were handed a four-point deduction for the upcoming 2026/27 second-tier season.

Eckert, who remains in charge at Southampton despite the scandal, is also still waiting to learn the outcome of charges brought by the English Football Association (FA) over the spying allegations, with a personal ban a possibility. In June, he had already publicly apologised to staff, players and fans over the incidents.

Eckert explained to kicker that the reason his staff filmed the opponents' training in the first place was his lack of knowledge of the EFL regulations: "I didn't know, no. But I authorised it, which is why the overall responsibility lies with me. In England in particular, many tasks are bundled together in the manager's role. The decision was wrong and had huge consequences for the players, the fans and the club," said Eckert.

He said that in the summer he had "initially come to England as the U21 coach and only took over the first team in November. At that point, I had a different understanding of observing opponents on publicly accessible premises," he said. Although Championship coaches in England are trained every summer, "there was no such training for U21 coaches or later for me as interim coach, but the rules were accessible. It would have been my duty to know them. I caught up on that in the summer"; according to Eckert.  

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