In January 2015, Hamburg travelled to Dubai for some warm-weather training during the Bundesliga’s winter break. A group of journalists followed the team, and as the days ticked by, several members of the press became suspicious of one their own.

One journalist in the pack was in fact a scout from FC Koln, who were due to play Hamburg in their next league game. After being confronted, the scout quickly disappeared back to Germany.

One of Koln’s staff members at that time was the current Southampton manager, Tonda Eckert. There is no evidence that Eckert was involved in the incident, but perhaps what is most telling is not that it happened but the reaction to it. There were no sanctions, no hearings, no national outcry. Koln’s punishment was to be mercilessly mocked by the German media for their brazen, bumbling attempt at espionage.

Tonda Eckert appears to have no future at Southampton after the saga (Getty)

So when Eckert told the independent commission investigating Southampton’s spying saga earlier this month that he didn’t realise the practice was against English Football League rules, that’s probably true. Covert reconnaissance is embedded in German football culture, and the Koln case is one of many.

The EFL commission didn’t care for Eckert’s explanation, of course. Eckert and his staff were signed up to the EFL’s regulations and they should have known better. Besides, breaching rules is somewhat baked into the definition of spying – otherwise it’s just looking.

The commission’s written reasons for evicting Southampton from the Championship play-offs were published last week, and although they were buried in the news cycle under Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad announcement, they were damning. The report found “a contrived and determined plan from the top down”. Eckert knew about the spying, he authorised it, and he tried to use the information to his advantage on several occasions.

Eckert authorised the spying scandal at Southampton (Getty)

We can question the extent of that advantage. Did those long-range iPhone videos really hold the key to Southampton’s successful season? Saints admitted to spying in three matches and didn’t actually win any of them. The unsophisticated nature of the grift, conducted beside a tree, was undoubtedly funny. Perhaps had it been drones overhead and a listening device in the changing room, the reaction would have been different.

Southampton unsuccessfully argued the punishment of losing their play-off place was disproportionate, like being put on trial for murder after getting caught shoplifting. But why spy if there is nothing to gain? Eckert admitted he wanted to learn Middlesbrough’s formation and if Hayden Hackney, one of the Championship’s best players, would start the game. That is key information, and information is power in football.

This was a case of performance-enhanced tactics, and the EFL could not have allowed a team guilty of doing so to win the golden goose of promotion to the Premier League. But the commission’s report rightly called out the worst part of this tale, which was not the spying or even the attempts to cover tracks. The most egregious act in all of this was that they sent the intern.

The young analyst should have known better, and it seems he did. The commission report revealed he initially rejected instructions to spy on Millwall, but it seems he was later persuaded. Perhaps he felt he had little choice. Perhaps he was told this is what every club does.

A Middlesbrough fan holds up a cutout of Southampton captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis during the Championship play-off final (Getty)

There are echoes of Cameron Bancroft, the young Test match cricketer asked to rough up the ball by senior Australian colleagues during sandpaper-gate. Bancroft later accepted responsibility for his actions in the scandal, but also said he found it hard to push back. “I just wanted to fit in and feel valued.”

Bancroft has shown there is a road to rehabilitation in the world of sport. The Southampton intern has gone to ground, and his family have been hounded in the past few days. His mental health should be Southampton’s only priority right now. There should still be a future in the game if he wants one.

But the report described the use of a junior member of staff as “deplorable”, and that alone makes Eckert’s position untenable. He could yet be banned by the Football Association, which is investigating whether he brought the game into disrepute. He may ultimately be sacked by Southampton, who are taking careful steps before proceeding.

But Eckert has buried his head in the sand for much of this story, even walking out of a press conference when asked whether he was “a cheat” by a reporter as the Southampton press officer fumed at the journalist to “have some respect” for daring to ask the perfectly fair question. Eckert should finally take responsibility and walk away from an ugly saga. Whether or not it is in the culture, regardless of whether or not he knew the rules, embroiling an intern to do the dirty work was the gravest crime.