Hull City owner Acun Ilicali claims they had a win against Sheff Utd ‘stolen’ and he also makes a dig at John Lundstram’s hurt statement.
Ilicali didn’t hold back as he aimed a public dig at John Lundstram after the player’s social media post to address his red card and reception from fans of his former club Sheffield United.
Acun Ilicali and Oli McBurnie meanwhile risks being punished after comments and criticism of referee John Brooks.
Accidentally caught the Lundstram tackle while filming some crisp bags #sufc #twitterblades #SHUHUL pic.twitter.com/6acOPgN6Tc
ā The Tufty Club (@tufty_club) April 11, 2026
John Lundstram, who was booed off the pitch by Sheffield United fans after being shown a red, said via Instagram: āI never ever do this, but I’m sorry to the Hull fans todayā¦ fine margins decide games and I feel I cost us today. I apologise!
āThe reception from the Blades fans hurt a lot today also, I don’t understand the hostility, I absolutely love the club, gave everything I had for the club and was part of maybe the best Sheffield United team in history.
āI left because I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to change mine and my familyās lives.
āI just wanted to apologise to the Hull fans and say I love Sheffield United and it will always hold a special place in my heart! Lunny.ā
After John Lundstramās red card yesterday for Hull at Sheffield United, he put out an insta story.
Hullās owner is not too impressedā¦ pic.twitter.com/N1fzsuM2GC
ā Sanny Rudravajhala (@Sanny_Rudra) April 12, 2026
Acun Ilıcalı (@acunilicali) tweeted: “Dear Lunny, we are still feeling the pain of the three points stolen from us today. We believe that the most important thing today that we need to talk about is losing three points by terrible referee decisions.
“On an afternoon filled with disappointment for us, as I read your statement, I would expect it to be more about the injustice on the pitch and less about the disappointment you felt from the fans of your former club.
“We are a big family, we have one dream. We have a great team, strong coach and the best fans fully focused on reaching the playoffs. I hope you’ll feel better in the future with the genuine love and support from our Hull City (with capital H) fans.”
Jakirovic spoke on the red card for Lundstram, saying, per Hull Live: “The reason why he gets the yellow is because the referee is in the way and he knows that. It’s a foul, completely a foul, but you don’t have to give a yellow because you are the reason why he was late on the ball.
“The penalty, I don’t know what happened there. From my position, I saw six players on the ground. You can see this every game, 10 penalties like this.”
Lundstram’s first booking came after a disagreement with Mark McGuinness. Jakirovic said: “I don’t know why he got the yellow card. This guy attacked him. If somebody attacks you, you will stay down, ‘kick me one more time’, like the song by Britney Spears, you have your reaction, and you have your limits.”
Hull’s head coach did not seek an explanation from referee Brooks afterwards. Jakirovic said: They don’t want to speak with you, and this is a very big problem, for all the head coaches, not just for me. We have a pre-match meeting, and every time they say we can ask the referee if we have any questions, but then you ask like I ask the wall, nothing.
“Imagine if you are in my place, and you ask something, they ignore you. I don’t know what the purpose of the pre-match meeting was, and if the captain is approaching you and asks what is your decision, they say ‘go away, penalty’.
š āļø UNITED’S MOST HATED EX PLAYER… GETS SENT OFF ON HIS RETURN TO BRAMALL LANE! John Lundstram’s RED CARD had the whole of Bramall Lane laughing, and was a deciding factor in United’s comeback win – and here’s what Nick made of the moment! #sufc #hcafc pic.twitter.com/M1uvLFJpor
ā Sheff United Way (@SheffUnitedWay) April 12, 2026
Hull City striker Oli McBurnie told talkSPORT: “The second one, the referee’s clearly in Lunny’s way, he’s had to run around him and that’s why he’s off-balance as he’s making a tackle.
“Now, understandably, that’s a foul.
“But I think the referee has shown he doesn’t really understand football too much. Anyone knows that if you’ve played football and you’re in the way, you use a bit of common sense.
“You give the foul but you don’t give the yellow card, because if you’re not in the way there, Lunny can run in and take the ball and there’s no foul whatsoever.
“Then the penalty, we’ve just watched it back in there, we’re still not sure who the foul is on.
“I asked the referee during the game who the foul was on, he said he didn’t know and told me to go away.
“Which is interesting as well, I don’t know how you can give a foul if you’re not sure who it’s on.
“I don’t really know what more I can say on the referee.”
McBurnie said he had seen similar situations of grappling ‘maybe ten times a game’ that weren’t given as a penalty in Hull’s previous games.
Here’s how fans reacted after Hull City owner Acun Ilicali claims they had a win against Sheff Utd ‘stolen’ and he also makes a dig at John Lundstram’s hurt statement…
@j_coatsworth: What a bizarre interjection from the owner. When will they get the message that their job is to sign the cheques and keep schtum?
@sidscafepeck: Acun shouldnāt have come out publicly but his point is right. Lunnys on big money and all heās bothered about is the reaction from the blades. Heād have a bit more credit in the bank if he justified his wage
@sarahfinn8: Fair play! Iād be fuming as a fan reading that from one of our players!!
@leedolman9: Lifelong Hull City fan and I support @acunilicali on this. Football is about passion and being partisan. 100% commitment to your club.
@jj_ss_22: WOW what a circus of a club, accept the defeat and move on. Clowns ššššš
@Sam11474: 4 games to go in a tight play off race and the owner and a player are having a public passive aggressive argument. This can only end well I’m sure. What a circus.
@digitalsunshine: I’ll be honest, I was disappointed with the ref yesterday. I was disappointed with Lundstram’s statement. I was even disappointed with Sergej for not hooking Lunny, as you could see *something* happening. This ain’t the way for the chairman to address any of that though #hcafc
@Mattc1904: FFS this isnāt helpful at all. Everyone is disappointed with yesterday but it happens sometimes in football. Statements like this is why I worry heāll do something silly if we donāt make the play offs like sack Sergei. Keep it in house and full focus. 4 cup finals to come #hcafc
@1280Sue: Playoff or not, this coach and group of lads have excelled beyond beliefs. Mistakes happen, inconsistencies and injuries haven’t helped. Everyone had us for relegation. Don’t listen to the moans and groans, just do your best. š¤š§”š
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