Acun Ilicali taking shock Hull City action as Middlesbrough replace Southampton | OneFootball

Hull City chairman Acun Ilicali has been left incensed by Southampton's expulsion from the Championship play-off final as Middlesbrough now await

The build-up to Saturday afternoon's hotly-anticipated EFL Championship play-off final has been dominated by the scandalous 'Spygate' saga involving Southampton and Middlesbrough, which has resulted in the former's expulsion from competing for Premier League football at Wembley just days before the clash.

An independent disciplinary commission found that Southampton had indeed spied on Middlesbrough ahead of the first-leg of the Championship play-offs at the Riverside Stadium, in which an intern analyst was rumbled in the act of watching and recording Kim Hellberg's side going through their paces in training.

It has, however, emerged that the Saints had conducted the same antics on both Ipswich Town and Oxford United earlier in the season, which means that, despite winning the second leg 2-1 following a stalemate draw on Teesside, the south coast outfit have been expelled from the play-off final and replaced by Middlesbrough instead.

Southampton, who have also received a four-point deduction for the 2026/27 campaign, are braced to feel the effects of a significant fall-out in the immediate aftermath of the saga, with players reportedly lining up legal action against the club for lost salary increases and promotion bonuses after being denied a place at Wembley while uncertainty lingers over the future of head coach Tonda Eckert.

The German replaced Will Still last November and has admitted responsibility for his side's spying operations, which could incur an 18-month ban from the Football Association if charges are brought against the 33-year-old.

It is, however, not only Southampton supporters and players and all at Middlesbrough who have been affected by the unfolding events.

Hull City, having progressed to the play-off final last Monday after beating Millwall, have been left in limbo ever since, training in preparation to face Eckert's side before learning that it's Middlesbrough who will be joining them under the famous arch instead.

Now, with just days leading up to the richest game in football against the sort of chaotic, saga-laden backdrop we've never previously seen, Tigers chairman Acun Ilicali has revealed his intention to take fresh action.

Hull City chairman Acun Ilicali taking shock action as Middlesbrough replace Southampton

Although Southampton are appealing the EFL's decision, it would be a surprise to see such an attempt succeed at this late stage considering the gravity of the charges against the Saints.

Therefore, Hull will now prepare to face Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon in a development which has caused major disruption to the efforts of Sergej Jakirovic's men and is poised to be met with new legal action from the Tigers.

On Wednesday morning, a report from The i Paper revealed that Hull are "privately furious" about being thrown into the middle of the situation and have been sounding out legal advice owing to the uncertainty surrounding the fixture and lack of requisite preparation as a result.

This came after sporting director Jared Dublin vowed to seek legal guidance in the event of Southampton's expulsion, and with that sanction having now been decided, Ilicali has laid bare his own feelings on the matter while revealing the measures that Hull are looking to take.

The Tigers owner has claimed that club lawyers believe that Hull should gain direct promotion to the Premier League instead of playing out Saturday's final, citing the fact that his side will effectively have just one training session to prepare for the clash against Hellberg's outfit.

As quoted by Turkish outlet Asist Analiz, Ilicali said of the situation: "Under normal circumstances, two teams have reached the final and one has been disqualified.

"Our lawyers’ opinion is that we should go directly to the Premier League, but they’re examining it right now. We can’t say anything definitive. It’s a bit of a messy situation.

“We had been preparing for Southampton for 10 days. All the planning, analysis, and work was focused on them.

"Now, with the days left until the final, the opponent has changed.

"Tomorrow the players are off, Thursday is the last serious training session. We’ll prepare for the new opponent with one training session."

Acun Ilicali's Hull City attempt surely won't come to fruition

Middlesbrough have, of course, been the main affected party from the saga up until yesterday, having momentarily seen their ambitions of returning to the Premier League quashed in the face of blatant cheating and rule-breaking.

But that's exactly why they are deserving of a spot at Wembley to contest for promotion once more, with many commentators and neutral supporters lauding the EFL for taking such serious measures towards Southampton.

The play-off final has already been shrouded in significant uncertainty, unpredictability, controversy and chaos, and it's hardly likely that anybody will want to bring that all back once again.

It's easy to sympathise with Hull, too - the preparations of Jakirovic and co have been capsized through no fault of their own and they've been caught up as collateral in a saga they never really had anything to do with in the first place, meaning that Ilicali's frustrations are, to an extent, rather understandable.

However, you would perhaps safely bet on any attempts to cancel the showpiece affair entirely and hand Hull a free pass to promotion to fall on deaf ears if Ilicali is indeed embarking down that route, with that sort of outcome only handing Middlesbrough fresh injustice following the punished wrongs of Southampton.