Hull City are set to take legal action if they lose the Championship play-offs.

Ilikali described the decision to allow Middlesbrough back into the play-offs as “unbelievable”.

He said: “If this action is so big, if a team is out, why not do the semi-final, investigate and let them take Southampton out and Wrexham in?

“Why are Wrexham out now? Put Wrexham in and keep the race going.”

“To me, bringing back a team that has been eliminated — and that’s what our lawyers say and that’s their opinion — is an incredibly wrong decision.”

In the year

“Now I can talk a little because now the kids are in the stadium and they don’t hear me. I didn’t want to distract them,” he added.

“Decisions are negotiable from what I understand from our lawyers, very negotiable.

“But of course we have to focus on the game and the boys are strong enough to overcome these problems.”