City overcame Boro at the end of a controversial week to win promotion to the top-flight
Hull City owner Acun Ilicali lifts the play-off final trophy at Wembley(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Acun Ilicali says he felt the emotion from Steve Gibson after Hull City beat Middlesbrough 1-0 at Wembley Stadium last weekend, to secure promotion to the Premier League.
The pair embraced in the Royal Box at Wembley, following Oli McBurnie’s goal in the 95th minute, which capped a stunning season for City, 12 months on from their great escape from potential relegation to League One.
Gibson looked crestfallen at full-time, after Boro’s sixth visit to Wembley ended without victory and left their forlorn supporters trudging back to Teesside reflecting on a play-off campaign that saw them beaten in the semi-final and final, despite spending much of the season inside the top two.
For Ilicali, the celebrations were only just beginning with City enjoying a party at their hotel after the game, before having an open-top bus parade on Bank Holiday Monday, followed by a gathering in front of more than 40,000 fans in Queen Victoria Square.
Preparations are in full swing for City’s first Premier League campaign in a decade, but Ilicali took time out from spearheading a frantic summer to pay tribute to his opposite number.
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“He’s a great guy, a fantastic guy, and he congratulated me, wishing the best for us, and he really meant it from his heart,” Ilicali told Hull Live. “I saw it in his eyes. It really affected me, and I hugged him.
“Of course, I felt sorry for him also. There was another, I think, board member of Middlesbrough. He was very emotional in the game, shouting all the time when they were pushing in the game. He was shouting, and I just went near him and wished him all the best for the future.
“Middlesbrough is a good team and a club with which we have good relations. Last summer, we sold Alfie Jones to them, Ryan Giles went on loan to them, and there are some players in our team who have come from the Riverside Stadium, like Matt Crooks and Paddy McNair. It’s a team that we have good connections with, and I felt sorry for them.”
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