Southampton boss punished for spying on Town and others last season

The Saints were thrown out of the Championship play-offs after admitting sending a young intern to spy on a Middlesbrough training session within 72 hours of a game - breaching competition rules.

The EFL said the south-coast club were found guilty of a “deplorable” act of putting pressure on the junior member of staff to spy on Boro, and it was subsequently revealed that Oxford United and Ipswich were spied on as well.

The incident involving the Blues happened when they were training at the Silverlake Stadium of National League side Eastleigh. Staff were sent to record the training session, feeding back what they saw.

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The FA have handed out Eckert additional punishments, although they are much more lenient than many expected.

The German has been handed a suspended six-week ban, as well as a £28,000 fine for his role in the 'Spygate' scandal.

He will be able to continue in the dugout as Southampton boss, starting with Sunday's South Coast derby against arch-rivals Portsmouth.