by Sam Hawcroft
Hull City’s Championship play-off final against Middlesbrough will kick off at 3.30pm on Saturday, May 23, the EFL has announced – but the fixture is still not fully confirmed because of Southampton’s ongoing appeal.
The Tigers are currently due to face Middlesbrough at Wembley after Southampton were expelled from the play-offs for multiple breaches of EFL regulations relating to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training sessions.
However, Southampton have appealed against the decision, and the EFL has confirmed that if the appeal results in the final being contested by Hull City and Southampton instead, kick-off will revert to the original time of 4.30pm.
In a statement today, Wednesday May 20, the EFL said: “Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final between Hull City and Middlesbrough will kick off at 3.30pm.
“Should the outcome of the ongoing appeal process result in the final being contested by Hull City and Southampton, the kick-off time for the fixture will remain at 4.30pm.”
Hull City have also issued an update to supporters, confirming the new kick-off time while making clear that final confirmation of the fixture is still awaited.
The club said: “Supporters who have successfully purchased tickets will receive their digital match tickets once the club are permitted to send.
“The club remains in regular dialogue with all relevant stakeholders and will communicate further details, including ticket release and Tiger Travel information, once final confirmation of the fixture has been received.
“We would like to thank our supporters for their continued understanding and patience. We cannot wait to see a sea of black and amber under the arch this weekend.”
Southampton were expelled from the Championship play-offs by an Independent Disciplinary Commission after admitting multiple breaches of EFL regulations.
The club were also handed a four-point deduction, to be applied to the 2026-27 Championship table, alongside a reprimand in respect of all charges.
The EFL said Southampton admitted breaches of regulations requiring clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.
The admitted breaches relate to fixtures against Oxford United in December 2025, Ipswich Town in April 2026 and Middlesbrough in May 2026.