Should Saints Sack Tonda?

[CB Fry]

59 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

What happens if he isn't banned, we sack him and get yet another dud replacement in and end up getting relegated. 

In fairness to SR, two of the three managers they have appointed for the Championship have got us on long unbeaten runs and into the play off final.

[saintant]

37 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

In fairness to SR, two of the three managers they have appointed for the Championship have got us on long unbeaten runs and into the play off final.

Must have missed our appearance in the play-off final under Eckert 🙂

[Hawkswood]

2 hours ago, Saint Gifford said:

His position is untenable. It’s as simple as that really.
 

Regardless of any thought, loyalty, ability, record, success, whatever. 

There clearly is one outcome, he has to go for the sake of Southampton FC. 

The reason I disagree is because the media landscape has changed in the last ten years. If something looks bad, then the accused party just doubles down, and why not. People will shout stuff at us. So what. We'll have songs, memes, jokes at our expense. So what.

You say regardless of ability, record, success but in the next paragraph, partially contradict yourself ( in my opinion) by saying " for the sake of southampton  ", but that's EXACTLY the reason I voted early on for him to stay. For the good of southampton.  For the results on the pitch.

It pisses me off ( not you but the general media) how we're being fed to the dogs ( a little less now) but we've got  Newcastled owners who literally butchered a journalist for telling a story. Man  City owners who.....well we all know and God knows how many hedge fund managers that are part owners of clubs that have destroyed countless numbers of peoples lives with their greed and literal disregard for other human beings and the kleptomania of various oligarchs over the last 2 or 3 decades that have destroyed millions of lives which is conveniently forgotten about and Im meant to be worried about the reputation of southampton for some spying offenses ?

Its just fucking ridiculous. 

Not having a dig at you, but a bit of perspective is needed.

[Hayling Saint]

13 minutes ago, Hawkswood said:

The reason I disagree is because the media landscape has changed in the last ten years. If something looks bad, then the accused party just doubles down, and why not. People will shout stuff at us. So what. We'll have songs, memes, jokes at our expense. So what.

You say regardless of ability, record, success but in the next paragraph, partially contradict yourself ( in my opinion) by saying " for the sake of southampton  ", but that's EXACTLY the reason I voted early on for him to stay. For the good of southampton.  For the results on the pitch.

It pisses me off ( not you but the general media) how we're being fed to the dogs ( a little less now) but we've got  Newcastled owners who literally butchered a journalist for telling a story. Man  City owners who.....well we all know and God knows how many hedge fund managers that are part owners of clubs that have destroyed countless numbers of peoples lives with their greed and literal disregard for other human beings and the kleptomania of various oligarchs over the last 2 or 3 decades that have destroyed millions of lives which is conveniently forgotten about and Im meant to be worried about the reputation of southampton for some spying offenses ?

Its just fucking ridiculous. 

Not having a dig at you, but a bit of perspective is needed.

 

[Hayling Saint]

Just now, Hayling Saint said:

 

Totally agree with this

 

[Harry_SFC]

8 hours ago, CB Fry said:

In fairness to SR, two of the three managers they have appointed for the Championship have got us on long unbeaten runs and into the play off final.

That's true. I'll give them that.

[Weston Super Saint]

On 28/05/2026 at 00:00, Cuddles said:

Maybe they are looking at the alleged bullying? It's a bit odd.

Why would the FA do that?  Bullying and harrassment is an internal employee relations issue and will be covered by the club's bullying and harrassment policy.  The person being 'bulllied' would need to raise a grievance internally which will be dealt with internally.  The FA have zero responsibility to investigate bullying of staff members.  

[Willo of Whiteley]

All the ITKs have gone quiet 

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

What a shit situation the club have found themselves in. If Dragan was really completely unaware of all this then he must be fookin' furious. The probable loss of £200m+, sponsors, reputation and now so much extra work to be done in a very short space of time just to settle things down.

We seem to have taken all these sanctions (and likely more to follow) a bit too passively, is there more shit in the background and we've cut a deal with the EFL to just accept our punishment or face more damning evidence?

I'm still clinging to the thought that we may yet have that ace up our sleeve and will soon fight back kicking and screaming.

[Wade Garrett]

9 hours ago, Hawkswood said:

The reason I disagree is because the media landscape has changed in the last ten years. If something looks bad, then the accused party just doubles down, and why not. People will shout stuff at us. So what. We'll have songs, memes, jokes at our expense. So what.

You say regardless of ability, record, success but in the next paragraph, partially contradict yourself ( in my opinion) by saying " for the sake of southampton  ", but that's EXACTLY the reason I voted early on for him to stay. For the good of southampton.  For the results on the pitch.

It pisses me off ( not you but the general media) how we're being fed to the dogs ( a little less now) but we've got  Newcastled owners who literally butchered a journalist for telling a story. Man  City owners who.....well we all know and God knows how many hedge fund managers that are part owners of clubs that have destroyed countless numbers of peoples lives with their greed and literal disregard for other human beings and the kleptomania of various oligarchs over the last 2 or 3 decades that have destroyed millions of lives which is conveniently forgotten about and Im meant to be worried about the reputation of southampton for some spying offenses ?

Its just fucking ridiculous. 

Not having a dig at you, but a bit of perspective is needed.

Our name has been dragged through the mire but this is spot on.  
We’re very easy prey for the media.  

[tdmickey3]

9 hours ago, Hawkswood said:

The reason I disagree is because the media landscape has changed in the last ten years. If something looks bad, then the accused party just doubles down, and why not. People will shout stuff at us. So what. We'll have songs, memes, jokes at our expense. So what.

You say regardless of ability, record, success but in the next paragraph, partially contradict yourself ( in my opinion) by saying " for the sake of southampton  ", but that's EXACTLY the reason I voted early on for him to stay. For the good of southampton.  For the results on the pitch.

It pisses me off ( not you but the general media) how we're being fed to the dogs ( a little less now) but we've got  Newcastled owners who literally butchered a journalist for telling a story. Man  City owners who.....well we all know and God knows how many hedge fund managers that are part owners of clubs that have destroyed countless numbers of peoples lives with their greed and literal disregard for other human beings and the kleptomania of various oligarchs over the last 2 or 3 decades that have destroyed millions of lives which is conveniently forgotten about and Im meant to be worried about the reputation of southampton for some spying offenses ?

Its just fucking ridiculous. 

Not having a dig at you, but a bit of perspective is needed.

👏

[Pwoite]

55 minutes ago, TheAlehouseBrawlers said:

What a shit situation the club have found themselves in. If Dragan was really completely unaware of all this then he must be fookin' furious. The probable loss of £200m+, sponsors, reputation and now so much extra work to be done in a very short space of time just to settle things down.

We seem to have taken all these sanctions (and likely more to follow) a bit too passively, is there more shit in the background and we've cut a deal with the EFL to just accept our punishment or face more damning evidence?

I'm still clinging to the thought that we may yet have that ace up our sleeve and will soon fight back kicking and screaming.

People talk to us losing a potential £200m, whilst forgetting this isn’t a lottery win. Sure, there is the status, level of competition and exposure, but a lot of that money, if not all, would be tied into extra wages and transfer fees. A straight £30m would be the minimum for increased basic wages for players, before bonuses. Then add in support staff, the cost of higher profile transfers and investment needed the EPL matches. With those transfers come the risk of having to offer three year deals, and the risk of more Ramsdale situations.

Yes, of course we’d be in a far better position than we now find ourselves, and we could have afforded a couple of £30m players rather than a couple at £8m, but it’s never as simple as saying that total has been robbed from our piggy bank.

 

 

[gio1saints]

I keep returning to the double standards at play  in all this.
 

If the sanction for CHEATING OFF THE PITCH is what we are experiencing - then there’s a lot of upward mobility on the sanction for CHEATING ON THE PITCH. 
 

I will feel the EFL have reaped what they’ve sown when, say, a West Ham player falls over untouched in our penalty area next season claiming a penalty only to find  he gets not only a yellow card but a red card plus we are awarded a 3-0 default victory on the spot after a three person independent  VAR panel comprising Franny Benalli plus 2 advises on this insta-judgement. 
 

 

[saintant]

18 minutes ago, Pwoite said:

People talk to us losing a potential £200m, whilst forgetting this isn’t a lottery win. Sure, there is the status, level of competition and exposure, but a lot of that money, if not all, would be tied into extra wages and transfer fees. A straight £30m would be the minimum for increased basic wages for players, before bonuses. Then add in support staff, the cost of higher profile transfers and investment needed the EPL matches. With those transfers come the risk of having to offer three year deals, and the risk of more Ramsdale situations.

Yes, of course we’d be in a far better position than we now find ourselves, and we could have afforded a couple of £30m players rather than a couple at £8m, but it’s never as simple as saying that total has been robbed from our piggy bank.

 

 

There's also the, not insignificant, fact that Hull might have beaten us at Wembley.

[Whitey Grandad]

11 hours ago, Suhari said:

Is there any confirmed timescale for the FA investigation?

Has he actually been charged?

[Window Cleaner]

5 minutes ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Has he actually been charged?

Who knows really but by looking at the outcomes of their disciplinary panel you see that they charge (and convict) people for much less.

I think that they'll go for their bog standard bucket offence, bringing the game into disrepute.

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

55 minutes ago, Pwoite said:

People talk to us losing a potential £200m, whilst forgetting this isn’t a lottery win. Sure, there is the status, level of competition and exposure, but a lot of that money, if not all, would be tied into extra wages and transfer fees. A straight £30m would be the minimum for increased basic wages for players, before bonuses. Then add in support staff, the cost of higher profile transfers and investment needed the EPL matches. With those transfers come the risk of having to offer three year deals, and the risk of more Ramsdale situations.

Yes, of course we’d be in a far better position than we now find ourselves, and we could have afforded a couple of £30m players rather than a couple at £8m, but it’s never as simple as saying that total has been robbed from our piggy bank.

 

 

 

35 minutes ago, saintant said:

There's also the, not insignificant, fact that Hull might have beaten us at Wembley.

Yep, I clearly didn't word that too well, I should have just said the potential of promotion (that I feel we would have had a very good chance against Hull in the final) and all the rewards, financial and status, that would have resulted.

[rallyboy]

39 minutes ago, saintant said:

Hull might have beaten us at Wembley.

Nah, not our team and the way they were playing. 😎

Our keeper could catch and we scored goals.

[wild-saint]

11 hours ago, Hawkswood said:

The reason I disagree is because the media landscape has changed in the last ten years. If something looks bad, then the accused party just doubles down, and why not. People will shout stuff at us. So what. We'll have songs, memes, jokes at our expense. So what.

You say regardless of ability, record, success but in the next paragraph, partially contradict yourself ( in my opinion) by saying " for the sake of southampton  ", but that's EXACTLY the reason I voted early on for him to stay. For the good of southampton.  For the results on the pitch.

It pisses me off ( not you but the general media) how we're being fed to the dogs ( a little less now) but we've got  Newcastled owners who literally butchered a journalist for telling a story. Man  City owners who.....well we all know and God knows how many hedge fund managers that are part owners of clubs that have destroyed countless numbers of peoples lives with their greed and literal disregard for other human beings and the kleptomania of various oligarchs over the last 2 or 3 decades that have destroyed millions of lives which is conveniently forgotten about and Im meant to be worried about the reputation of southampton for some spying offenses ?

Its just fucking ridiculous. 

Not having a dig at you, but a bit of perspective is needed.

100% Fuck em all. 

[Turkish]

2 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

All the ITKs have gone quiet 

Not on the WhatsApp group we haven’t 

[trousers]

1 hour ago, Window Cleaner said:

Who knows really but by looking at the outcomes of their disciplinary panel you see that they charge (and convict) people for much less.

I think that they'll go for their bog standard bucket offence, bringing the game into disrepute.

Do we know what the FA charged Bielsa with? Assume it was along the same lines, i.e. "bringing the game into disrepute"?

One thing that's confused me is that, according to this paragraph from a recent BBC report, the FA seemingly only took into account the Derby spying incident, but I thought that Bielsa owned up to doing it multiple times...? 

 

[tdmickey3]

5 minutes ago, trousers said:

Do we know what the FA charged Bielsa with? Assume it was along the same lines, i.e. "bringing the game into disrepute"?

One thing that's confused me is that, according to this paragraph from a recent BBC report, the FA seemingly only took into account the Derby spying incident, but I thought that Bielsa owned up to doing it multiple times...? 

 

The decision was

"just forget it lads, he`s popular with the media, its no big issue is it, quite funny actually" 

[Saint Fan CaM]

I’d do wonder whether the FA is acting in an intermediary role between Saints (and their big legal guns) and the EFL now. Bigger stakes at play than Salt, TE or even Spors. Pure speculation of course. Also it’s half-term and everyone’s on the beach.

[OzzySaint]

If for some reason the FA decide that the equivalent of '200 million fine' and 4 point deduction  is enough punishment on the club and no further action is required. And if the club are left alone to punish any miscreants themselves, then i think the players should decide whether Tonda gets sacked or not. As fans we will have our own opinions (i say keep him) however the real financial hit will be with both the club and the players - they should have a say. At the end of the day, had the FA originally put a punishment in place when they made changed the rules after the Leeds game i'm sure none of this would have happened but that's hindsight. This 'crime' is hardly unknown in football and there are plenty of worse crimes out there - especially in FIFA ($$$) and other ruling bodies including the FA. Leave Saints alone to sort this, we've already had the worst punishment possible!

[Willo of Whiteley]

38 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Not on the WhatsApp group we haven’t 

Oh to be a fly on the wall 😂

[VectisSaint]

4 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Why would the FA do that?  Bullying and harrassment is an internal employee relations issue and will be covered by the club's bullying and harrassment policy.  The person being 'bulllied' would need to raise a grievance internally which will be dealt with internally.  The FA have zero responsibility to investigate bullying of staff members.  

Not true Weston, the FA have an anti-bullying policy,.part of RESPECT. It is one area that the FA have little tolerance for (supposedly). In my view I suggest they will come down heavier on any bullying or discrimination than aspects than on the so called cheating for individuals (whether that is Tonda or otherwise) because the EFL have effectively already sanctioned the cheating)breaking of the rules. 

[Saint Pete]

It's tempting to give Tonda another chance given the football we have been playing and the promise he is showing as a young coach. But it's concerning to me that we still haven't heard any kind of statement or apology from him since we were kicked out of the play offs. 

I realise that the club (and by extension he) is still under investigation by the FA, so there may be reluctance to give a full explanation for his actions until that is concluded. But I would have wanted and expected some kind of words from him to at least express some regret and contrition for the impact of this on the Saints players and in particular the fans, given that he is the manager and has been so heavily implicated in the EFL judgement. It feels a little gutless (and perhaps even arrogant) that he has said nothing at all since his holding comments in the pressers for the Boro games. 

If we are to stick with him (which I think will likely depend on the severity of any FA sanctions on him), we will need to hear some genuine and convincing explanation and contrition from him if he is to maintain credibility as our leader after all this in my opinion. 

Edited 10 hours ago by Saint Pete

[for_heaven's_Saint]

2 hours ago, trousers said:

Do we know what the FA charged Bielsa with? Assume it was along the same lines, i.e. "bringing the game into disrepute"?

One thing that's confused me is that, according to this paragraph from a recent BBC report, the FA seemingly only took into account the Derby spying incident, but I thought that Bielsa owned up to doing it multiple times...? 

 

The new 72 hour rule that came into play after Bielsa did it was an EFL rule, right?  In which case, as far as the FA goes, Tonda's conduct wasn't any worse than Bielsa's and the punishment should be the same.

[BARCELONASAINT]

49 minutes ago, Saint Pete said:

It's tempting to give Tonda another chance given the football we have been playing and the promise he is showing as a young coach. But it's concerning to me that we still haven't heard any kind of statement or apology from him since we were kicked out of the play offs. 

I realise that the club (and by extension he) is still under investigation by the FA, so there may be reluctance to give a full explanation for his actions until that is concluded. But I would have wanted and expected some kind of words from him to at least express some regret and contrition for the impact of this on the Saints players and in particular the fans, given that he is the manager and has been so heavily implicated in the EFL judgement. It feels a little gutless (and perhaps even arrogant) that he has said nothing at all since his holding comments in the pressers for the Boro games. 

If we are to stick with him (which I think will likely depend on the severity of any FA sanctions on him), we will need to hear some genuine and convincing explanation and contrition from him if he is to maintain credibility as our leader after all this in my opinion. 

what we want or expect as fans is of no significance be honest.

I would fully expect from a legal perspective the club and those employed by it have been told to keep their mouths shut and rightly so until any and al proceedings have been completed.

The sensible thing is to say nothing until the right time and that is clearly not now!

[trousers]

17 minutes ago, for_heaven's_Saint said:

The new 72 hour rule that came into play after Bielsa did it was an EFL rule, right?  In which case, as far as the FA goes, Tonda's conduct wasn't any worse than Bielsa's and the punishment should be the same.

That echoes my interpretation of the FA's scope / remit 👍🏻

[trousers]

It turns out watching a team train within 72 hours of a match isn't a big deal after all....

 

[Saint Pete]

13 minutes ago, BARCELONASAINT said:

what we want or expect as fans is of no significance be honest.

I would fully expect from a legal perspective the club and those employed by it have been told to keep their mouths shut and rightly so until any and al proceedings have been completed.

The sensible thing is to say nothing until the right time and that is clearly not now!

A number of players plus Parsons have put out statements since the expulsion. I don't expect chapter and verse but don't think it should be beyond Tonda and the club's capabilities to draft something for him to put out that doesn't implicate him any further than his own actions up to this point have and to explain why he can't say more yet. Still say it looks gutless on his part to say absolutely nothing given he is supposed to be our manager. 

[bpsaint]

3 hours ago, Turkish said:

Not on the WhatsApp group we haven’t 

Is this the same WhatsApp group that claimed the playoff punishment was a little less than too much and that Tonda had already been sacked? 👀 

Edited 8 hours ago by bpsaint

[Nordic Saint]

35 minutes ago, for_heaven's_Saint said:

The new 72 hour rule that came into play after Bielsa did it was an EFL rule, right?  In which case, as far as the FA goes, Tonda's conduct wasn't any worse than Bielsa's and the punishment should be the same.

Bielsa was rewarded with the FIFA Fair Play Award at the end of that season, and given the EFL Championship Manager of the Year award the following season.

[saintant]

15 minutes ago, trousers said:

It turns out watching a team train within 72 hours of a match isn't a big deal after all....

 

But surely a club as big as Arsenal realise that PSG will be able to view this training session and glean so much critical information that the Gunners may as well not even bother turning up for the final. This is madness.

[trousers]

2 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

Bielsa was rewarded with the FIFA Fair Play Award at the end of that season, and given the EFL Championship Manager of the Year award the following season.

Crazy, isn't it?

Jimmy Greaves was right...

"It's a funny old game, Saint"

[Nordic Saint]

24 minutes ago, trousers said:

It turns out watching a team train within 72 hours of a match isn't a big deal after all....

 

This is grossly unfair of Arsenal. By encouraging the opposition to watch their training sessions less than 72 hours before a big game, they are gaining an unfair advantage by intimidating them.

[saintant]

8 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

This is grossly unfair of Arsenal. By encouraging the opposition to watch their training sessions less than 72 hours before a big game, they are gaining an unfair advantage by intimidating them.

I'm sure Alex Crook, Troy Deeney, James Corden, Andy Townsend etc etc will be absolutely horrified and even now will be preparing to form a panel to appear live on Talk Sport today to explain the absolute folly of such a move by Arsenal and pleading with them not to give such a huge advantage to PSG 🙂 It rather makes a complete mockery of the whole spying saga and our subsequent punishment.

Edited 8 hours ago by saintant

[Nordic Saint]

30 minutes ago, saintant said:

I'm sure Alex Crook, Troy Deeney, James Corden, Andy Townsend etc etc will be absolutely horrified and even now will be preparing to form a panel to appear live on Talk Sport today to explain the absolute folly of such a move by Arsenal and pleading with them not to give such a huge advantage to PSG 🙂 It rather makes a complete mockery of the whole spying saga and our subsequent punishment.

Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa win Fair Play prize at FIFA Football awards for role in Aston Villa game despite 'spygate' row | talkSPORT

[tdmickey3]

1 minute ago, Nordic Saint said:

Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa win Fair Play prize at FIFA Football awards for role in Aston Villa game despite 'spygate' row | talkSPORT

What a great character he is

[Paul_B]

1 hour ago, trousers said:

It turns out watching a team train within 72 hours of a match isn't a big deal after all....

 

I'm assuming if any PSG representatives are caught watching this stream then the club will be immediately kicked out of the competition....... Right? Obviously Middlesborough will then take their place. That's how this works isn't it?

[obelisk]

Alfie House reporting a rumour that TE has the backing of the players. Mind you, many won't be at Saints next season.

[Football Special]

1 hour ago, Paul_B said:

I'm assuming if any PSG representatives are caught watching this stream then the club will be immediately kicked out of the competition....... Right? Obviously Middlesborough will then take their place. That's how this works isn't it?

Just make sure to scan all of Europe for qualified lawyers and in a lucky dip get  David Winnie on the UEFA panel 

[Weston Super Saint]

4 hours ago, VectisSaint said:

Not true Weston, the FA have an anti-bullying policy,.part of RESPECT. It is one area that the FA have little tolerance for (supposedly). In my view I suggest they will come down heavier on any bullying or discrimination than aspects than on the so called cheating for individuals (whether that is Tonda or otherwise) because the EFL have effectively already sanctioned the cheating)breaking of the rules. 

Pretty sure the FA insists that ALL clubs have an anti bullying policy and requires the clubs to investigate incidents not the FA themselves...  Otherwise they could be tied up investigating incidents between fuckwit FC and back of beyond united!!

[Willo of Whiteley]

This guy last tweeted the day of the hearing, not the most reliable source in the world

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

This guy last tweeted the day of the hearing, not the most reliable source in the world

He is a sun journo so more reliable than someone random on twitter. If what he says is true then some of the stuff written has been outrageous.

[trousers]

21 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

He is a sun journo so more reliable than someone random on twitter. If what he says is true then some of the stuff written has been outrageous.

Yep, starting to feel sorry for Tonda, given this article and the 'inside info' from FF this afternoon... How on earth could the FA hand down a suspension or ban when it now seems like Tonda did less that what Bielsa did....? Other than the FA jumping on the "let's teach them a lesson" bandwagon of course...

Edited 6 hours ago by trousers

[Window Cleaner]

1 hour ago, Paul_B said:

I'm assuming if any PSG representatives are caught watching this stream then the club will be immediately kicked out of the competition....... Right? Obviously Middlesborough will then take their place. That's how this works isn't it?

State owned club, they probably have surveillance satellites on the job.

[ChristopheVAFC]

This is the press article relayed by JustSaint:

Quote

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/39252555/southampton-players-tonda-eckert-stay-spygate/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=sunfootballtwitter&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1780056482

Southampton stars want Tonda Eckert to STAY despite Spygate costing club £215m – but he still could be sacked or banned

Justin Allen , Chief EFL Writer

Published: 12:31, 29 May 2026

Updated: 12:45, 29 May 2026

SOUTHAMPTON players want Tonda Eckert to stay on as manager despite the Spygate saga costing them Premier League football.

The 33-year-old German boss led the Saints to a 21-game unbeaten run but the club were expelled from the play-off final after a club analyst was caught spying on a Middlesbrough training session.

It also emerged the south coast team had snooped on Ipswich and Oxford.

Boro, who they beat in the semi-finals, were reinstated to the play-off final where they were beaten by Hull.

Sources have revealed to SunSport that the majority of the Southampton squad gave Eckert their backing at a team meeting held last week at the training ground.

One Saints insider said: “Most of the squad have given Tonda an overwhelmingly positive reaction despite what happened.

“Not everyone was completely happy, of course, but the majority of them believe keeping Tonda as manager gives them the best possible chance of getting promoted to the Premier League next season.”

But Eckert’s future remains uncertain.

Southampton bigwigs are yet to decide whether they want him to remain — and could yet sack him.

The German also faces potential FA charges, which could even see him banned from coaching for 18 months.

He admitted breaking EFL regulations – but maintains he did not know football espionage was against the rules in this country as the practice is widespread across Europe where he has previously worked.

SunSport understands that Eckert did not personally initiate the controversial spying plan — but was aware and authorised it due to his ignorance of the EFL rules.

Southampton fans have been in uproar and the club reached out to them with a statement last week — insisting they will repair broken trust.

Club chiefs are furious because promotion would have landed them a £215MILLION windfall.

Saints chief said in their statement: “Southampton Football Club has a proud history and strong foundations, but it is clear that trust now needs to be rebuilt. That work begins immediately

“The club will reflect carefully on the events that have led to this point, learn from them and take the necessary steps to move forward responsibly.

“While [this] is a painful moment, this football club will respond with humility, accountability and determination to put things right.”

[Saint_lambden]

1 minute ago, ChristopheVAFC said:

SunSport understands that Eckert did not personally initiate the controversial spying plan — but was aware and authorised it due to his ignorance of the EFL rules.

And if you believe that you'll believe anything.