Pep Guardiola claim proves Tonda Eckert wasn't completely wrong on 'Spygate'

Pep Guardiola’s old 2019 claim proves Southampton boss Tonda Eckert wasn’t completely wrong on ‘Spygate’ a few days ago.

The dust caused by Southampton’s ‘Spygate’ scandal seems to have settled down in the past two days. Firstly, Saints fans got relieved watching Hull City beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in the playoffs final Southampton were supposed to play before being brutally stripped of it.

Secondly, there are various reports surfacing in recent hours portraying that Tonda Eckert wasn’t completely wrong on ‘Spygate’. While spying on opponents is certainly not a practice to be celebrated, the scale of condemnation from the EFL and sections of the Middlesbrough press may have been excessive relative to the nature of the transgression.

Pep Guardiola claim proves Tonda Eckert wasn’t completely wrong on ‘Spygate’

Back in the 2018/19 season, Leeds United were caught in ‘Spygate’ 1.0. The then-Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa admitted guilt quickly and their upcoming Derby County fixture was a regular Championship gameweek instead of a playoffs semi-final.

Notably, the 72‑hour EFL rule, which now prohibits clubs from spying on opponents just before a match, did not exist at the time of the Leeds incident. Consequently, Leeds escaped with a relatively modest £200,000 fine and avoided any major sanctions.

Perhaps more revealing were the recent comments from outgoing Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who pointed out that spying is not viewed with the same severity in Germany as it is in English football.

Guardiola suggested the practice is widely accepted on the continent. Recalling an old TalkSport report, he said: “Here it is more different. It is private. It is closed but in other countries I’ve been before everyone does it.”

The six‑time Premier League winner also recounted an incident from his Bayern Munich days: “In other countries everybody does that because they are open. When I was training at Bayern Munich it was people with cameras watching what we do.”

Right after Southampton were expelled from the Championship playoffs final, The Telegraph revealed Tonda Eckert’s ‘Spygate’ defence. In their words: “His(Tonda Eckert’s) key defence – since the practice is widespread in Europe, he had no idea he was breaking EFL rules.”

All in all, Pep Guardiola’s 2019 claim on Leeds United’s ‘Spygate’ scandal proves Tonda Eckert wasn’t wrong in what he said.

Should Southampton keep or sack Tonda Eckert?

Similar to Pep Guardiola’s claim, many other past spying stories are doing the rounds at present. One of them revolves around former Borussia Dortmund staff Edin Terzic who sneaked inside a Real Madrid training session disguised as a steward ahead of the 2012/13 Champions League semi-finals.

Dortmund won the tie 4-3 on aggregate and they weren’t expelled from the subsequent Champions League final. As for Terzic, he kept working at Borussia Dortmund and later led the German club as head coach in the 2023/24 Champions League final at Wembley, ironically losing 2-0 to Real Madrid itself.

So should Southampton imitate Borussia Dortmund and retain Tonda Eckert? (along with addressing the fans, of course)

Or do the Saints take the moral high ground and sack Eckert, and rebuild the Premier League promotion push from scratch once again?

Fairly speaking, a lot depends on FA’s verdict. If they do anything apart from banning Eckert from English football then there is virtually no reason for Southampton to sack him themselves. Finding a right manager is a tedious task in itself these days, let alone finding one fit for both the Championship and the Premier League.

Tonda Eckert took the Championship by storm, led Southampton to arguably the club’s best FA Cup run in years and had everyone realistically dreaming of an FA Cup final. He has defeated top Championship sides, recently crowned Premier League winners Arsenal and showed he can produce mammoth unbeaten streaks needed to win promotion from the Championship.

Fingers crossed, hopefully Tonda Eckert stays at Southampton in the end despite the ‘Spygate’ drama surrounding him.