Southampton manager Tonda Eckert might have spied against France and Hamburg before

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/southampton/WdKOwxDM/"]Southampton's[/a] appeal against being thrown out of the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/hull-S66R0t75/middlesbrough-6F0lvLNC/?mid=OIpPdTJa"]Championship play-off final[/a] for spying was rejected this week, in devastating news for the Saints. [/p][p]The club admitted to three separate instances of spying on opposition training sessions: against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/oxford-utd/vgOBT43c/"]Oxford United[/a] in December, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ipswich/thqhB2MB/"]Ipswich Town[/a] in April and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/middlesbrough/6F0lvLNC/"]Middlesbrough[/a] before the play-off semi-final first leg. [/p][p]Reports state that the orders for spying came from Eckert, a manager who may have used such tactics in the past, after a tweet revealed that the German has been connected to multiple counts of spying in the past. [/p][p]In 2014, France boss Didier Deschamps lodged an official complaint to FIFA about the drone which halted training. Then, France captain Hugo Lloris said it was like a 'little helicopter' that watched over training. [/p][embed guid="6555572c-ea75-4d2b-a58f-b00b52019be3" url="https://x.com/BluesBallersHQ/status/2057583405106344117?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]“It’s a good object for journalists! We heard it and then we saw it. We didn’t see anyone controlling it. Maybe they were behind the stand. It didn’t stay over us for a long time. There was nothing we could do to stop it – maybe kick the ball at it. But it’s a big challenge to hit it.” [/b][/p][p]Interestingly, Eckert was Germany’s opposition analyst at that World Cup, leading to suspicions that it could have been his plan. [/p][p]One year later, ESPN reported that FC Cologne sent a scout to watch Hamburg train ahead of their clash. The report stated that the scout was first seen taking notes during the Hamburg training and then suspiciously joined journalists. [/p][p]Saints, who were expelled from the Championship play-offs, have been deducted four points for the 2026-27 Championship season. Whether this was Eckert’s tactical plan is unknown, but signs point towards him using this tactic for a number of years. [/p]