Hull City team bus window smashed ahead of Middlesbrough Championship play

Hull City team bus window smashed ahead of Middlesbrough Championship play-off final

The Hull City team bus saw a window smashed on their way to Wembley Stadium

The window of Hull City's team bus has been smashed by 'stones and bottles' ahead of the Championship playoff final with Middlesbrough. Sergej Jakirovic's squad had been based at the Hilton Hotel, mere yards from Wembley Stadium, with the damage visible upon arrival to the accomodation.

Saturday's clash has been marred by the Spygate controversy that has sent shockwaves through English football, after Southampton - who had knocked out Middlesbrough in the semi-final - were disqualified from the competition following a guilty verdict for spying.

While it remains unclear whether any players were aboard the vehicle when the incident occurred, reports suggest the damage happened as the coach travelled to collect the team from their hotel.

Sky Sports confirmed: "The Hull team bus has had a window smashed this afternoon after objects were thrown at it on the way to the team hotel. The Hull players are just arriving out of the team hotel on to the bus, we can show you some damage to the team bus on its way to pick up the players some stones and bottles have been thrown at it so there has been some damage.

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"They have had to knock out some of the glass on the exterior of the window, still OK for the players to make the very short journey to Wembley Stadium from here at the team hotel which is a few 100 yards away."

This year's Championship play-offs have proved among the most contentious in living memory following Southampton's dramatic removal from the competition. The Saints discovered their fate on Wednesday, following an appeal, just 72 hours before the final was due to kick off.

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Southampton had already sold 35,000 tickets as they aimed to secure an instant return to the Premier League, having dropped down a division 12 months earlier.

Yet after being found guilty of spying on Middlesbrough ahead of the first leg at the Riverside Stadium, alongside two additional breaches coming to light, they were thrown out of the competition.

Hull, by contrast, overcame Millwall to secure their spot at Wembley and have been left in limbo waiting to discover their final opponents.

This isn't the first time team coaches have faced disruption arriving at grounds. Back in 2021, Manchester United fans protested against the Glazer ownership, resulting in Liverpool's team bus being prevented from reaching Old Trafford after the match had been called off weeks beforehand.

It subsequently emerged that the Liverpool squad had travelled to the ground on two separate coaches. The incident echoes a similar episode in 2018, when Manchester City's team bus sustained damage during their visit to Anfield ahead of their Champions League quarter-final clash.

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