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Southampton’s owner, Dragan Solak, has confirmed that the German head coach will not be dismissed despite the recent Spygate scandal. The controversy arose when Southampton was found guilty of breaching regulations, resulting in a four-point deduction for the upcoming season. The club’s appeal against the sanctions was rejected by an independent League Arbitration Panel, whose written reasons were published on Monday.
Dragan Solak said: “I think he deserves a second chance and I would give it to him. My full support would be behind him actually, because I think he’s a super-talented manager. I believe Tonda that he didn’t know that it was the rule he was breaking. My personal opinion, and the opinion of the board, is that he is a manager who deserves to be backed by us and to be supported by us. I will obviously seek advice from the team. I will seek advice from the players, from the fans. But yes, if it’s ultimately my decision, he stays. I told him: ‘You almost broke my heart. You do it again, you’ll kill me… The next time I see you in July, if you don’t know the EFL book of rules by heart, you can’t work for me because we can’t have another mistake.’ I truly hope that he will learn from this experience and he will achieve an incredible career.”
Southampton released a statement acknowledging its breach of regulations and accepting responsibility for the situation. The club admitted that its initial response lacked the necessary scrutiny and expressed regret over how the matter was managed from the outset. Despite this, Southampton emphasized its cooperation and honesty once the formal investigation commenced.
Saints statement: “Southampton Football Club notes today’s publication by the Arbitration Panel of the written reasons behind our unsuccessful appeal of the sanctions the Disciplinary Panel previously imposed on us in the EFL proceedings. We accept that the club breached the relevant regulations, and we recognise that the disciplinary bodies were entitled to conclude that proof of sporting advantage was not necessary in order to establish a serious offence. The club accepts that aspects of our initial response to the situation were not treated with the level of scrutiny they required at the time. In hindsight, we wish this had been managed differently from the outset and this represented an error of judgement for which we take responsibility. Despite this, we are happy with the way in which we admitted the charges and offered our full cooperation and honesty once the formal EFL investigation process had started. We also note that the club was judged against the very highest standards of integrity and good faith. That is entirely proper.”
The club has committed to reflecting on the published reasons and reviewing its internal processes to ensure strengthened governance, oversight, and decision-making procedures. Southampton aims to use this experience to enhance its judgement, discipline, and integrity as it moves forward.
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