City will be playing Premier League football next season
Hull City owner Acun Ilicali celebrates at Wembley(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
Acun Ilicali’s boyhood club Fenerbahce have congratulated Hull City on promotion to the Premier League, following their 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
Almost 85,000 fans watched Oli McBurnie tuck in the winning goal five minutes into added time at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and send City back to the top-flight after a 10-year absence.
Ilicali had a huge group of friends and family in the stands at Wembley, after being flown over on a chartered flight courtesy of sponsors Corendon Airlines.
The Tigers can now look forward to mixing it with Europe’s elite in the top-flight next season, after McBurnie’s priceless goal in the 95th-minute on a blisteringly hot afternoon in the capital.
Ilicali, who celebrated on the pitch, grew up supporting Fenerbahce and was the club’s vice-president last season, before opting to turn his full attention to the East Yorkshire club.
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“Congratulations, Hull City, owned by Acun Ilıcalı, one of the important figures in our community who has served as vice president in our club, has achieved the success of promotion to the Premier League,” the Istanbul giants said in a statement. “We congratulate Acun Ilıcalı and the Hull City management; we wish them success in the Premier League.”
On winning promotion, the Turkish businessman added, “It’s the best day of my life,” Ilicali told Hull Live. “It means everything to me, to all these beautiful people in Hull, we deserved it. We believed it, and for me, from the first minute, Hull was my second home and the love they showed to me, our fans, what can I say more. They never left me feeling down, always up, up.”
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