Is spying as common in Germany as Southampton boss Eckert claims?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Tonda Eckert has repeatedly claimed that spying is perceived differently in his homelandByDaniel AustinBBC Sport senior journalistPublished49 minutes agoWhen Southampton manager Tonda Eckert apologised to fans for the Spygate scandal in a video broadcast on Tuesday, he doubled down on his claim that spying on opposition teams’ training sessions is common practice in his native Germany.”When I worked in Italy for four years, every starting line-up we chose was out in the media before games, and the reason is our training sessions – especially the ones before games – have always been observed by media and opponent teams,” the 33-year-old reported.”[Pep] Guardiola has spoken about this in his time at Bayern, that it has been common practice in Germany to observe training sessions, knowing that other teams would do the same.”Eckert, who joined Southampton as Under-21s manager last summer before taking charge of the first team in the autumn, claimed that his ignorance of the rules outlawing spying led to the English Football League (EFL) throwing Saints out of last month’s Championship play-offs.”There are different rules in England, different rules in the EFL, and I should have known them,” he reported.Eckert now faces an investigation by the Football Association into his conduct, and could be handed a ban if charged and found guilty.So, is spying as commonplace in Germany, and is cultural difference a suitable defence?Figure caption, Eckert: “I am a young coach, I have made a mistake, and I take full responsibility”How widespread is spying in German football?Spying can be conducted far more easily in Germany, because many sides in the Bundesliga hold regular open training sessions which can be attended by the public.Though aimed at fans, there is in theory nothing stopping an opposition member of staff from turning up and recording observations.Guardiola did indeed reveal that the Bayern side he coached between 2013 and 2016 was subject to spying, with no rules banning it in the Bundesliga.”In other countries everyone does it, [but] it’s more difficult here,” the former Manchester City manager reported of English football in 2019. “At Munich there were people with cameras watching what we do.”Everyone wants to know everything. That’s not just football, it’s society.”There have been a few high-profile stories relating to spying in Germany.The now RB Leipzig manager Ole Werner admitted that when coaching Werder Bremen he had drones fly over opposition training grounds and sent members of his backroom team to hide in bushes.In one instance under previous boss Florian Kohfeldt, Werder had to apologise when one of their video analysts was caught flying a drone over Hoffenheim’s training ground, leading to a police investigation into a potential aviation offence.
