Southampton v Hull City play-off final date could change | OneFootball

The play-off final is originally scheduled to take place on May 23rd

The Championship play-off final has always been an unforgettable spectacle, only this season, there has been an extreme sense of drama and jeopardy even prior to any ball being kicked at Wembley Stadium.

As is often the case, the second tier's showpiece event, which is dubbed the 'richest game in football' due to the finances associated with featuring at the national stadium, TV rights funds and the riches that come with earning promotion to the Premier League, has been scheduled to kick off the bank holiday weekend of play-off finals.

There has been the occasional instance where the Championship play-off final has been played on a bank holiday Monday following the conclusion of the League One and League Two finals, but the usual order has been maintained for 2025/26.

Hull City were the first side to seal their passage towards North London as, 10 days after sealing sixth spot in dramatic fashion on the final day of the season, they defeated Millwall 2-0 at The Den thanks to goals from Mohamed Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt, after the first leg at the MKM Stadium ended goalless.

Southampton, at least on the pitch, have taken care of business, with Tonda Eckert's side also emerging victorious 2-1 over Middlesbrough at St Mary's in the second leg after a 0-0 draw at the Riverside Stadium.

Although Shea Charles proved to be the hero for Tonda Eckert's team, that doesn't tell even a tenth of the ongoing saga surrounding the post-season lottery.

And it has now been claimed that the final may not even occur on Saturday, May 23rd, in a fresh twist.

Fresh twist on Southampton v Hull City play-off final emerges amid kick-off wait and spygate saga

It has been well-documented that Saints have been charged by the EFL over allegations that an intern analyst was caught photographing and filming Middlesbrough training sessions at Rockliffe Park ahead of the first leg of their semi-finals on Teesside, with images recently emerging whilst the North East side have also enlisted the help of well-known sports lawyer, Nick De Marco.

An independent disciplinary committee is set to review the matter, with Middlesbrough pushing for sporting sanctions to be implemented, whilst some have weighed in on whether Saints should be expelled from the play-offs.

Amongst all the legalities, Tigers fans, after basking in the achievement of returning to Wembley for the first time in 10 years, were soon hoping to organise their journeys from East Yorkshire to North London, with a travel warning issued.

However, with just nine days until the final, ticket details are yet to be released, only adding to the tension and frustrations surrounding the saga, whilst City released a statement encouraging supporters to not contact the ticket office at the MKM Stadium.

This came after Saints prematurely released how they would facilitate their tickets and swiftly deleted them after the EFL were alerted.

A fresh report from Hull Live has explained that Tigers staff were hoping to release ticketing information on Thursday after being made to wait, with the EFL also hoping to give a green-light sooner rather than later.

However, in a remarkable turn of events, it has also been reported that a whole range of potential instances are on the table, and that includes moving the game from Saturday, May 23rd, with a kick-off time still yet to be confirmed, albeit further claims have emerged that this would be a 'last resort' as a panel meeting is expected to take place in the next 24 hours.

The aforementioned publication have also revealed that kick-off times, if the date remains unchanged, are more likely to be 4PM or 4:30PM, although this may also alter.

Hull City and Southampton waiting game isn't helping either club and their fans

At this stage, both sets of supporters will likely have organised routes of travel, accomodation and extra matchday rituals with the original date and a normal kick-off time planned.

As such, this waiting game is helping none of the thousands of fans who will descend on Wembley to support Eckert's or Sergej Jakirovic's teams respectively.

Another reason for the feeling of anger is that both League One and Two finals were given a kick-off time on the evening of Friday, May 8th.

And, although there is over a week until the scheduled date, training plans may also be impacted, with Hull returning to their Cottingham base on Thursday after two days off post-semi-final, and they are preparing as usual, to face Southampton for a third time amid claims and wishes from some quarters that Middlesbrough may be allowed to progress into the final after the allegations which surfaced.