City have anxious wait on their appeal against EFL ban

PIVOTAL DECISION FOR THE TIGERS

- By BARRY COOPER

It's been another bonkers summer at Hull City. As we prepare for the start of the new Championship season this weekend, attention is not entirely on events at the CBS Arena.

City are embroiled in an appeal against a ban preventing them from buying players, or paying loan fees for new players which has severely impacted their transfer business this summer, and their appeal was heard yesterday.

The club has still made some good signings, but they've also missed out on prime targets because of their situation, which will have come as a major frustration.

Here, the Mail looks at where things are at...

What's the situation?

The Tigers, as it stands, cannot pay transfer or loan fees to sign new players under the terms of the three-window transfer fee restriction the EFL imposed on them at the beginning of July.

Any players they do sign have to be free transfers or loan deals with no fee paid to the parent club. As an example, Joel Ndala has arrived from Manchester City for the season. While City can pay towards his wages, they will not have paid a loan fee to complete the deal, nor are they allowed to insert an option or obligation to buy the player next summer, which is something we see so often.

How did we get here?

City were slapped with a three-window fee restriction by the EFL at the beginning of July after accumulating 30 days or more of late payments in the 12-month period 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.

They were also handed a transfer embargo for late transfer payments to Aston Villa and Manchester City, respectively, over Louie Barry and Fin Burns' loan moves, though they were removed after monies were paid.

It's believed the EFL have had concerns about City's cashflow and ability to keep up with payments for some time, so have taken action in a bid to resolve it, something Acun Ilicali refutes.