Southampton manager Russell Martin has been handed a six-week suspension with conditions by the FA for his role in the "Spygate" scandal.

Martin was interviewed by BBC Sport in September, just days before the hearing. Russell Martin remains Southampton manager after being handed a conditional suspension as part of the "Spygate" scandal.

An independent FA disciplinary commission has banned the German manager from all football-related activity for six weeks, but this ban has been suspended until the end of next season. Martin has also been fined £28,000 and received a warning, but avoided a lengthy ban that could have cost him his job.

The FA initially proposed a three-month ban, but the commission acknowledged in its decision that Martin had "significant mitigating factors in this case, particularly genuine remorse." The FA has not yet confirmed whether it will appeal.

Southampton accepted the decision in a statement.

"We hope this brings an end to a regrettable period in the club's history, and we have taken steps to ensure such lapses in judgment do not occur again within the club," the club said.

"We also want to take this opportunity to thank our supporters for their unwavering backing throughout this process."

Southampton owner Dragan Solak said the club "has suffered enough."

"We are grateful to the panel for recognising that," he said.

"We are confident that the head coach has learned from this incident, and the conditional suspension means he can continue in his role.

"I firmly believe Russell is one of Europe's most promising young managers, and free of this distraction, I am confident he can lead the team to a successful season."

Solak praised the FA's handling of the process as "positive," but criticised the English Football League (EFL), saying: "We will not forget how they treated us."

Southampton were relegated from the Championship playoffs in May after admitting to spying on training sessions at Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough ahead of their playoff semi-finals. They were also handed a four-point deduction this season.

An independent EFL disciplinary commission ruled at the time that the spying had been approved by Martin and was a "carefully planned top-down scheme executed with determination."

The 33-year-old apologised in June, claiming he was unaware the practice was prohibited and that it had no impact on the team's performance. However, the FA subsequently charged him with misconduct, and a hearing took place late last month.

Martin was sanctioned for breaching three clauses of FA regulation E3.1. If he is involved in any further spying activities before the end of next season, the six-week ban from all football-related activity will be activated.

Martin became Southampton's permanent manager in December 2023, taking over as interim coach when the team was in 21st place in the Championship. They eventually finished the season in fourth place.

Southampton, who will face local rivals Portsmouth this weekend, have won four of their opening eight Championship matches this season and currently sit 13th.

In 2019, after Leeds United was found guilty of spying on Derby County's training ground, the FA did not pursue Leeds' manager at the time, Marcelo Bielsa, but issued a formal warning.

The EFL fined Leeds United £200,000 at the time — which Bielsa said he would pay — and introduced rules prohibiting any club from observing an opponent's training within 72 hours of a match.

The closest precedent to this case comes from the 2024 women's Olympic football tournament. Canada's head coach Bev Priestman was banned by FIFA from all football-related activity for one year due to spying on opponents New Zealand.

In one instance, Martin had asked someone to spy on Oxford United to confirm whether they were playing with a four or five-man defence under their new manager. In the Ipswich case, the commission accepted Martin's account that obtaining footage of the opponent's training had not been initiated by him. Before the semi-final against Middlesbrough, the commission accepted Martin's testimony that he had sent someone to the training ground to confirm whether Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney would be available.

The commission was "entirely satisfied" that Martin did not know these actions violated EFL rules and did not consider them morally problematic either.

The commission "categorically rejected any suggestion of systematic or organised conduct."

The commission stated: "Spying on opponents is a very serious breach," while noting that "it does not prohibit observing training outside the stated period."

The commission found Martin to be "a particularly impressive witness" who "had reflected very deeply and seriously on what had occurred," and that "the depth and sincerity of his remorse was entirely commensurate with what could reasonably be expected."

The commission was asked to consider whether a three-month ban could cost Martin his job, and concluded it "would undoubtedly amount to an additional sanction on the club." "We consider this to be a clear and compelling reason to suspend the part of the sanction involving a ban from all football-related activity," the report states.

Middlesbrough were training at their Rockliffe Park training ground to prepare for their match against Southampton 48 hours later.

It is alleged that the spy, a Southampton intern, parked his car at the golf club, then walked several hundred metres along a path to an elevated area. He stood there, wearing headphones and filming the training session with his phone. Middlesbrough staff believed he may have been live-streaming via a video call.

Sources claim a Middlesbrough staff member subsequently approached and questioned him, but he refused to identify himself. He then quickly deleted content from his phone before fleeing to the golf club. He ran to the toilet, changed clothes, then quickly left the area. A Middlesbrough photographer took his photo and successfully matched it to an image on Southampton's website. One of the images was subsequently made public.

Middlesbrough were furious and quickly reported the incident to the English Football League, which accused Southampton of breaching two regulations.

During the investigation, it emerged that in addition to filming Middlesbrough's training for the first leg of the playoff semi-finals, the club had also observed training sessions at Oxford United and Ipswich Town. Southampton failed to win any of these three matches — they lost 1-2 away at Oxford United, drew 2-2 at home against Ipswich Town, then drew 0-0 against Middlesbrough.

Since then, the intern has obtained a permanent role at the club's academy. Southampton revealed: "He has been through a difficult period."

"When your photo is made public, it's difficult to handle," Southampton CEO Phil Parsons said last month.

"Many people probably underestimate the impact that has on a young man, so we had to ensure he was supported early in his career. But he is also a very talented individual. I've received positive feedback, and he is in a good position at the club."

Traduit par IA.

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