Southampton manager Tonda Eckert has escaped a ban following the FA's investigation into Spygate.

The Saints supremo has been handed a six-week expulsion from all football however, the penalty is suspended until the end of next season.

Southampton were thrown out of last season's Championship play-offs after Daily Mail Sport revealed the incredible revelation that they had spied on opponents Middlesbrough at a training session.

They were also docked four points for the current campaign by the same panel - and now Eckert has been sanctioned by the FA.

'Southampton Football Club welcomes the outcome of the FA hearing into the events at the end of last season,' a Southampton statement read.

We hope this now brings a conclusion to a regrettable period of our history and measures have been put in place to ensure that such errors in judgement never happen again at our club.

We want to take this opportunity to thank the supporters for their unconditional backing throughout this process. Our fan base is unmatched, and we are excited to move forward together towards a bright future.

Southampton owner Dragan Solak added: 'I'm pleased that the independent panel has come to a decision and that we have an outcome. We have already suffered enough, and we appreciate the panel's recognition of that.

'We are confident the manager has learned from this matter, and a suspended sentence allows him to continue in his role. I firmly believe that Tonda is one of Europe's most exciting young coaches, and with this distraction removed, I am confident he can lead the team to a successful season. I'd like to thank our fans for standing by us and showing the team so much support during a time when we have needed them more than ever.

'The FA process has been a positive experience. Tonda has been given the opportunity to be open and honest with the panel, and the panel has been able to see that he is simply a good person who made poor decisions.

'The same cannot be said for the EFL process, and the way they have subsequently treated us is not something we will forget. However, now is the time to look forward to what I believe will be a great future for our club.'

Before the verdict, Southampton had already lined up former Wolves and Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards to potentially step in if Eckert's ban was lengthy.

Eckert had pleaded for sympathetic handling, telling the BBC this week that the club have already had a 'big, big punishment' while Saints chief executive Phil Parsons said: 'What we hope as a club is they (the FA panel) actually recognise where we are at the moment, and what we've already been through, because I think it has to be taken into account.

'I really feel like we've taken enough. We've been hurt. I think it's one of the largest sanctions ever when it comes to football, or even sporting, history.'

Eckert has admitted staff were sent to spy on sessions at Oxford and Ipswich during the regular season, then at Middlesbrough before the sides met in the play-off semi-final in May. That was when a Southampton intern was challenged by Boro staff and the scandal first emerged.

The German has said he was unaware that such spying was against EFL rules.

The panel convened by the EFL found young staff felt pressured to carry out the work, which it found was 'a contrived and determined plan from top down to gain a competitive advantage'.