More than two months after Southampton’s play-off semi-final against Middlesbrough, the repercussions from the Spygate scandal continues.

Following a 0-0 stalemate in the first leg at the Riverside Stadium, Southampton advanced to the play-off final with a 2-1 triumph in the second leg at St Mary’s, with Shea Charles’ goal deep into extra time clinching the victory for Tonda Eckert’s side.

However, after the Saints were found to have witnessed their opponents’ training session ahead of the first leg, they were thrown out of Wembley Stadium and replaced by Middlesbrough, but the Teesside club failed to capitalise on their reprieve, losing 1-0 to Hull City.

Southampton received a four-point deduction for next season in addition to their play-off final expulsion after admitting to spying on Oxford United and Ipswich Town during the regular season, but despite the harsh punishment, owner Dragan Solak confirmed last month that Eckert still has his full support.

While Solak has backed Eckert, it remains unclear whether the German will lead the Saints into the new season after the FA charged him with misconduct following their investigation into the Spygate scandal.

It is unclear at this time what punishment Eckert would face as a result of the charges, but The Guardian reports that the 33-year-old might face a six-month ban, casting his future on the South Coast into doubt.

Middlesbrough reacts to recent Tonda Eckert, Southampton developments.

Liam Day, a Middlesbrough fan, expressed amazement that Southampton did not fire Eckert when he admitted to authorising spying. He also suggested that the Saints make a managerial change if Eckert receives a lengthy ban.Liam informed FLW that he believes a ban is justified.”He violated the rules significantly.

“He accepted responsibility for sending the spy and everything else.After the club was accused, it was expected that he would be charged as well, which has already occurred.When you consider the rules, I believe that is a reasonable ban.

Do I believe they should fire him? “I believe so.”I believe sporting integrity has been compromised, so they should have had the second time he broke the rules.””I’m not sure how it works without a manager for six months.””I assume it’s just a touchline ban for six months, but that’s quite a long time, with over half the season potentially lost just because the manager cheated.”A club hiring a cheat in the first place is awful enough, but it would be unbelievable if they kept him after he was banned.”

Southampton facing fresh Tonda Eckert dilemma as anxious wait continues

Eckert has admitted to spying on three teams during the season, so it is not surprising that he has been charged with misconduct by the FA, but Southampton will now wait to see if he will be suspended just weeks before the new season begins.

Following the Saints’ expulsion from the play-off final and a four-point deduction, some may argue that the club has already been punished unduly for Spygate, especially given that the monitoring operations provided little sporting advantage.

Others would argue that Eckert deserves a separate individual punishment for orchestrating the spying missions, and that if he is given the rumoured six-month ban, Solak’s loyalty to him will be severely tested.