Spygate: Southampton owner Dragan Solak will not fire head coach Tonda Eckert.

The EFL Commission said it was “disappointing” that the club used its youth staff to “carry out undercover observations”.

Solak admitted that such a culture is unacceptable, but said: “There is a lot of misunderstanding, ignorance and arrogance, we have flaws in the club, but we really try to make them understand that the one who orders them to do something, which takes them out of their comfort zone, has the right to refuse.”

Asked about the trainee analyst who was sent to spy on opposition training and was caught doing it in Middlesbrough, Solak said: “I really don’t see this culture of someone making junior staff do things they don’t want to do.”

“I believe that our junior trainee felt personally, he was wrong, and he did not feel good to do this, and I think he should have expressed this more strongly. I am sure that if (he) comes to us, the senior management, in fact, it is the seniors who will be punished, not him.

“I’m very sorry. I’m sorry for what happened. And we want him to stay at the club and we’ve offered him to stay with the club for a long time.”

It has been reported that some Southampton players want to leave and may consider taking legal action against the club due to lost promotion bonuses. The team progressed to the knockout finals, beating Middlesbrough over two legs before being eliminated.

Solak said: “Really, it’s up to them to decide. I’ve had a very open conversation with them, and they’ve been very nice. And you can see they’re hurting. But through it all, they’ve still behaved like a gentleman. You go through things, but life is fair.

“If you’re a Premier League-worthy Southampton player, I’m sure you’ll play in the Premier League this season and next.”