More than four months after the Spygate scandal first broke, Southampton manager Tonda Eckert is days away from learning his fate. A Football Association disciplinary hearing is set to deliver its verdict imminently, following misconduct charges brought against the German coach in July.

The fallout has already been severe. Southampton were expelled from the Championship play-off final — a punishment that cost them a shot at Premier League promotion worth an estimated £200 million. An EFL independent panel subsequently docked the club four points heading into the current season.

Now the question is whether Eckert himself will face a ban.

The toll on Eckert