Hull City aim cheeky 'spying' dig at Southampton FC ahead of play-off final | OneFootball

Hull City have taken a mischeivous swipe at Southampton ahead of tomorrow afternoon's Championship play-off final against Middlesbrough

Tomorrow afternoon's Championship play-off final between Hull City and Middlesbrough has been shrouded in controversy and scandal, leaving both sides to lose no love towards Southampton after Tonda Eckert's side were expelled from the showpiece Wembley affair just days before being set to contest the richest game in club football.

With promotion worth an estimated £200 million, the second-tier play-offs were thrust into dispute and doubt following the revelation that Southampton had sent an intern analyst to spy on Middlesbrough in training ahead of the first-legged tie between the two teams on Teesside, which ultimately petered out in a stalemate draw.

The Saints then claimed a 2-1 victory at St Mary's to secure a second Wembley trip in as many months, although a rigorous investigation found that Eckert himself had sent spies to not only spy on Middlesbrough, but indeed, Ipswich Town and Oxford United earlier in the season too.

On Tuesday evening, the footballing world was left stunned when the EFL announced Southampton's expulsion from the play-offs despite progressing past Middlesbrough, who have now taken the place of the south coast outfit ahead of Saturday's final.

Although many supporters and neutrals believe the outcome to represent a fair and just decision, Hull have been caught up in the saga's crossfire despite having very little to do with it after seeing off Millwall to book their place at Wembley against all odds.

Tigers owner Acun Ilicali has already vowed to explore legal options under the guise that his side are deserving of automatic promotion owing to the disadvantage yielded by Middlesbrough's replacing of Southampton, with Sergej Jakirovic's men having spent more than a week preparing to face the Saints before learning of the remarkable switch earlier this week with little time remaining to get reared and readied for Kim Hellberg's outfit instead.

Such efforts surely won't come to any fruition at this late stage, however, following a backdrop of enough uncertainty and drama, and with tomorrow's showdown edging ever closer, Hull have joined the masses in poking fun at Southampton en-route to Wembley.

Hull City fire cheeky spying dig at Southampton

Southampton have been condemned and mocked in equal measure following the ever-unravelling revelations regarding systemic acts of spying by the Saints, of which the severity cannot be lost in light of claims that club interns were pressured into breaking the rules as Eckert now faces the threat of losing his job and receiving an FA ban while multiple players weigh up legal action against the club owing to lost promotion bonuses and salary increased from expulsion.

There are, mind you, comical aspects to the 'Spygate' saga, and it hasn't been lost on Hull in spite of the Tigers' understandable frustration at having to capsize preparations against the clock to face different opposition.

Hull travelled down to London yesterday afternoon, with players seemingly remaining in good spirits on the two hour-plus train journey. They were playing UNO to pass the time, and Hull took the opportunity to fire a cheeky, thinly-veiled swipe at Southampton in the process.

Tigers pair David Akintola and Amir Hadziahmetovic were both pictured playing the popular card game in a post published on Hull's X and Instagram channels, which was mischievously captioned: "No cheating, lads🃏".

Considering how many headlines the saga has made with wider interest extending far beyond the Championship, it's perhaps no surprise that the post received significant engagement and has already been liked by more than 75,000 users on X at the time of writing.

The East Yorkshire faithful naturally lapped up their club's cheeky post in the comments, whereas neutral fans and, above all, Middlesbrough fans also got involved, with the Teessiders holding particularly strong feelings against Southampton after everything that has happened.

Hull City are right to be furious at Southampton after Spygate scandal

Ilicali has echoed the feelings of Hull supporters by being left incensed at the late change, which undeniably leaves the Tigers at something of a disadvantage ahead of the final.

The Tigers would have every right to be furious with Southampton, who showed no regard for both the rulebook and sporting integrity and decency as a whole.

Eckert's antics have shot Southampton in the foot while having a huge knock-on effect for Hull, too, not to mention Middlesbrough - who were emotionally drained and despondent in the wake of their defeat in Hampshire.

Now, however, we know it's going to be Hull versus Southampton and the two sides must focus on the task in hand, leaving the whirlpool of emotions that have surrounded this season's play-offs in the past for 90 minutes as they aim for a return to the Premier League.