A Southampton supporter based in Leipzig has offered a perspective that cuts through some of the noise surrounding this scandal. James Parsons, who runs a Saints supporters group in Germany, made a point that deserves serious consideration.
In Germany, he said, there are no such rules.
A different football culture
Parsons spoke from direct experience. Having worked with RB Leipzig through his language school, and having observed German football culture at close quarters, his account carries genuine weight.
"When you're a team of analysts you go to games, you're welcomed by the clubs and can do as much analysis as you want," he said. "Everybody does it. It's part of being a professional team."
Eckert himself came through the RB Leipzig setup, working in youth football at the club before eventually making his way to St Mary's. The culture he operated in for years was one where detailed tactical observation was not just accepted but actively encouraged.
German football reportedly has no direct equivalent of the EFL regulation that Southampton broke. The emphasis on data, analysis and preparation is deeply embedded in the fabric of the German game. Parsons put it plainly. "The Germans love data and facts far more than the British."
Ignorance is still no defence
None of this excuses what happened. Southampton admitted to spying on three clubs. They initially lied about it. They used junior members of staff to carry out the observations, placing vulnerable employees in an impossible position.
Parsons himself was clear on that point. Despite understanding the cultural background, he acknowledged the club did not act well and should have come clean immediately.
The commission's findings were damning and the punishment, however harsh it felt to some supporters, reflected the gravity of repeated and deliberate breaches.
Cultural context explains. It does not absolve.
But it does raise an uncomfortable question the EFL would do well to sit with. As the English game increasingly attracts coaches, analysts and backroom staff from across Europe and beyond, how much responsibility do clubs and governing bodies carry for ensuring those individuals fully understand the specific rules they are operating under?
A coach steeped in German football culture, where open tactical analysis is simply part of professional preparation, may genuinely have not appreciated the same approach was a serious regulatory breach in England.
That is not an excuse. It is a failure of induction, and one Southampton's hierarchy must own entirely.
EFL clubs signing coaches from abroad have a duty to educate them thoroughly on the rules governing English football. Cultural differences within the game are real and they run deep.
Ignorance of the law, however, has never been a defence. It remains none now.
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