Hull City owner vows legal action over Middlesbrough play-off reinstatement

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has vowed to take legal action if the Tigers do not win Saturday's Championship play-off final against Middlesbrough.

Boro lost to Southampton in the semi-final - but were reinstated after Saints admitted to spying on the Teessiders' training session and were expelled from the competition.

"Our legal team says that we have to go for action, that's for sure," Ilicali told BBC Radio Humberside outside Wembley Stadium before kick-off in the final.

"So we have no doubt about it. Here, all we want is justice. If justice is broken, nobody will enjoy football."

Ilicali described the decision to allow Middlesbrough to re-enter the play-offs as "unbelievable".

He said: "If this action was so big that a team is out of the play-offs, why didn't they let them not play the semi-final, investigate and take Southampton out and put Wrexham in?

"Why is Wrexham out now? Put Wrexham in and continue the competition.

"For me, an eliminated team {being] put back - also our lawyers say this and that's their opinion too - is an incredibly wrong decision."

The 56-year-old, who took over Hull City in 2022, said he did not want to discuss the outcome of the EFL's independent disciplinary commission's hearing before the day of the final to avoid distracting the players.

"Now I can talk a little more because now the boys are in the stadium and they will not hear me. I didn't want to make their focus disturbed," he added.

"Decisions are discussable from what I understand from our lawyers, very discussable.

"But of course we have to focus on the game and the boys are tough enough to overcome these difficulties."

Southampton were expelled from the play-offs on Tuesday and their appeal against the decision was rejected the following day - just 72 hours before kick-off in Saturday's showpiece event.

Saints also admitted to spying on two other rivals' training sessions, including Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town last month.

The Football Associatoin has since opened an investigation of its own into Southampton over the Spygate scandal.

The club accepted what happened was "wrong" and apologised to the other clubs involved, as well as Southampton's supporters.

After their appeal was rejected, the club said in a statement: "While we fully acknowledge the seriousness of this matter and the scrutiny that has followed, the club has consistently believed the original sporting sanction was disproportionate, a view that has been widely shared by many in the football community."

But Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg said his trust in "doing the right thing" was restored after Saints' expulsion.

"It's a feeling of relief, happiness, a little bit of trust in doing the right thing and humanity," he told BBC Radio Tees.

"The right way to do it is working hard, not doing something else when everyone will see with the evidence and everything we know.

"It is quite clear what has been done and that should never be allowed in football."

Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic previously said the Tigers were "collateral damage" because they had to wait to find out which opponent they would actually be facing in the final.

"We can say everything is unfair in this last two weeks. You don't know what's going on," he told BBC Radio Humberside.

"If you look from a Middlesbrough point of view they knew if they were successful they would play against us so I can turn the situation around but I will not do that. We will try to beat them on the pitch."