Coach Eckert receives six-week suspended ban — The Guardian

In the United Kingdom, the Football Association (FA) has handed Southampton manager Tonda Eckert a six-week suspended ban over his role in a scandal involving covert observation of opponents' training sessions. The German coach was also fined £28,000, The Guardian reports.

Eckert admitted to three FA charges of improper conduct. The ban was suspended until the end of next season, allowing him to continue working with the team, including managing it in Sunday's home derby against Portsmouth.

Conditions of the ban

According to the FA, the suspended sanction will take effect if Eckert is found guilty of breaching the rules by requesting, authorising, receiving or using information obtained through observation of another club's training sessions.

In May, an independent disciplinary commission of the English Football League (EFL) found that the manager had directly authorised the observation on three occasions last season. Southampton representatives secretly monitored training sessions held by Middlesbrough, Ipswich and Oxford in the Championship.

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Sanctions for the club

The EFL commission's decision deprived Southampton of the right to play in last season's play-off final and required the team to begin the current season with a four-point deduction. The EFL did not have the authority to impose sanctions on individuals, so Eckert's case was referred to the FA.

The FA panel took into account the manager's sincere remorse, which he expressed during the hearing. Southampton said it welcomed the decision and had taken steps to ensure such errors of judgement were not repeated. Club owner Dragan Šolak noted that the suspended punishment would allow Eckert to remain in his post.

After eight matches, Southampton are 13th in the table. Without the points deduction, the team would be fourth.