The Tigers supremo has been speaking about City’s date with destiny next weekend
Acun Ilicali has had his say on the ongoing spygate situation(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Acun Ilicali says he’s asked his Hull City players to ignore the noise surrounding the Championship play-off final’s uncertainty and focus on the job in hand.
Opponents Southampton are under threat of being kicked out of the play-off over a spying charge, with beaten semi-finalists Middlesbrough demanding the South Coast club be punished in the harshest way possible.
There’s also a very real possibility the showpiece final on Saturday could be moved, while those disciplinary proceedings continue.
Boss Sergej Jakirovic and his staff continue to work on the basis that they will be facing the side they’ve already beaten twice in the regular season, and Ilicali says the club continue to prepare as normal.
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“This is football, and there is a saying that I really like and believe in, ‘football is not just football’, so you can see that all this week has been so many things going on without the pitch and without the football field,” the City owner told Hull Live.
“I don’t want to comment on anything at the moment about these things. I have asked my players to fully focus on the game,” the Turkish businessman continued.
“Maybe it looks like it’s not a comfortable situation for our boys, but they know what to do, and I believe in them, so with any result, we have the full respect.”
Ilicali, who will have as many as three hundred family and friends coming from all over the world to see the Wembley final, says Tigers fans can expect a beautiful day.
City are planning a host of memorable activities with fan parks, pub takeovers and a host of other surprises for those fans lucky enough to have tickets. The club have been allocated the east side of Wembley, which means they will have the fan park outside the turnstiles, within the stadium boundary. Firm details are being worked on over the weekend, with details expected to be announced by the club in the next couple of days.
“We want to have a big show, so I think it will be a beautiful day,” he continued. “Near the stadium, we are planning a big organisation that will show everybody how big a family we are, so I’m inviting all of our fans before the game near the stadium area, and I will be there too.”
Monday night’s 2-0 win at Millwall in the second leg of the play-off semi-final will live long in the memory, and while obviously delighted, Ilicali says whatever happened on the night, he was content with the progress the club had made under Jakirovic.
“I will be very honest, if we were to be eliminated in the semi-finals, in my mind, I accepted it before the game. We were aiming for the top 10 and reaching the play-offs, which was, for me, a fantastic year. I was very OK to be out in the semi-finals, but when we go to the final now, actually, the pressure, tension and excitement came to me, and I’m very excited.”
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