Before the final, Hull City owner Acun Ilicali mentioned they meant to take action in case Middlesbrough were going to win the final on Saturday, as stated by the BBC:

“Our legal team says that we have to go for action, that’s for sure. So we have no doubt about it. Here, all we want is justice. If justice is broken, nobody will enjoy football. If this action was so big that a team is out of the play-offs, why didn’t they let them not play the semifinal, 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.”

Southampton have been kicked out of the playoff final and docked four points for the 2026-27 season after admitting to spying on three different opponents during the course of the season. An appeal was officially dismissed on Wednesday, days after they admitted that they had not only spied against playoff semifinal opponents Middlesbrough but also Ipswich Town and Oxford United during the season.