Hull City have won promotion to the Premier League in dramatic fashion as Oli McBurnie pounced on a goalkeeper howler in the closing moments to decide the richest match in football.
In keeping with Hull’s unexpected renaissance, the Tigers came into the playoff final as underdogs and spent much of the first half on the back foot.
Middlesbrough dominated the ball with over 70 per cent of the possession but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Then in the 94th minute, McBurnie punished a costly blunder from Middlesbrough goalkeeper Sol Brynn to score the lucrative winner in stoppage time, sending a packed Wembley Stadium wild.
That would be the only goal of the match, with the full-time whistle blown just 63 seconds later.
The Tigers’ 1-0 win was enough to secure a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2016-17, an incredible revival after narrowly avoiding relegation last season on nothing more than goal difference.
Now, they are set for a massive windfall, with football finance experts Deloitte estimating the McBurnie strike will see the Tigers earn at least $375m over the next three seasons due to increased match-day, broadcast and commercial revenues.
That figure could rise to around $685m if they survive relegation next season.
You can watch Oli McBurnie’s goal in the player at the top of the page.
It also ends one of the messiest ‘spygate’ sagas in football history, which saw Southampton kicked out of the play-offs for filming a Middlesbrough training session ahead of their semi-final first leg.
Southampton had beaten Middlesbrough 2-1 on aggregate to earn a final showdown with Hull.
But the Saints were expelled from the play-offs earlier this week after an independent commission ruling their boss Tonda Eckert had “specifically authorised” the spying.
The English Football League said Southampton admitted to “multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training”.
Southampton chief executive Phil Parsons said the sanctions imposed were “manifestly disproportionate”.
In the end, Middlesbrough got another chance at promotion but couldn’t take it, much to the relief of many at Football League headquarters as Hull owner Acun Ilicali vowed to take legal action if the Tigers did not beat Middlesbrough.
But that is all trivial now, as Sergej Jakirovic’s Hull team became the first sixth-placed team to win promotion via the second-tier play-offs since Blackpool in 2010.
It is an incredible effort for the Tigers, who have been the surprise packet of the Championship in the 2025-26 season.
Hull were hit with a three-window transfer embargo last year, later reduced to two after a successful appeal, and were largely expected to be in a relegation scrap.
However, they produced a stunning effort to snatch a playoff place on the last day of the season.
From there, they made the most of it, beating Millwall 2-0 before McBurnie sent Hull fans wild deep into stoppage time, prodding home from close range to earn promotion to the Premier League.
