Are fans falling out of love with Acun Ilicali?

When he arrived at Hull City in January 2022, he came bearing free gifts for fans and the hope of a rapid return to the Premier League.

But more than three years after striding on to the pitch at the MKM Stadium as fireworks took off around him, the heat is now on for owner Acun Ilicali.

Having survived relegation last season by the tightest of margins and sacking their head coach, the Tigers were slapped with a transfer penalty amid fears for their finances.

Embargoes issued over outstanding transfer payments were lifted after those debts were settled, but a restriction that prevents the club from paying a fee for a player remains in place until the end of the summer 2026 transfer window.

Ilicali insists he is confident of winning an appeal against the sanction, but it is undoubtedly a worrying time for supporters.

So is Hull's love affair with the Turkish media mogul coming to an end, or does he still have credit in the bank?

Musician Daniel Mawer, 34, has shared both joy and despair with fellow fans at the Polar Bear Music Club in Spring Bank, where he has worked for the past 10 years.

"It's such a tricky time, but it's not like we haven't seen it before," he says.

"But usually it felt a bit more of a fun rollercoaster to be on over the past four years. This one feels more like we're on the steady decline of the rollercoaster.

"If you look at where Acun was when he bought the club, where it was in terms of finance, maybe four or five personnel was all it needed to take it up to where it needed to be. Instead, there have been wholesale changes every window."

Last week, a club source told the BBC's Mike White that there were long-standing and growing concerns within the club about finances and the ability to keep up with day-to-day payments with suppliers.

In an open letter to fans, Ilicali addressed those concerns by conceding that the club experienced a cashflow issue when it did not receive a £1.5m payment for a player – money that had been earmarked for suppliers.

He promised to cover the shortfall and said "we have zero conflict with any clubs".

Ilicali's early years were characterised by a flurry of high-profile signings, with Jaden Philogene and loanees Liam Delap and Fábio Carvalho getting fans off their seats.

But if the appeal against the financial restriction is not overturned, the club will be fishing in a very different pond when it comes to recruitment.

After head coach Liam Rosenior paid the price for missing out on the play-offs in May 2024, the Tigers appointed a further three managers in the space of 13 months.

As an owner who brought in perks such as free coach travel and opportunities to win holidays to Turkey, Ilicali has built up a reserve of goodwill among fans.

But as Joe Collins, a 19-year-old podcaster acknowledges, some of that goodwill is now being tested.

"He came in [and] he got the crowd's backing straight away with cheaper tickets," he says.

"We had a disastrous season last season and the finances [are] in a really difficult spot.

"You've got some fans who are 'Acun out', and there is definitely merit to that point of view.

"There are some who believe in him because they've had a sense of the feelgood factor and they sense that he cares, and then you've got ones in the middle, waiting to see how it plays out."

Charlotte Berry, a 31-year-old digital analytics manager, has been watching the Tigers for more than 20 years and is firmly behind the owner.

She was a mascot during the 2007-08 promotion season and says running out with skipper Ian Ashbee made memories for a lifetime.

"Being Hull City, nothing surprises me anymore," she says. "I feel like it's a blip in the road. Acun's got my full backing. It just looks like admin errors."

Daniel also thinks the owner "does care" and "wants it to work".

As for Joe, he says if the owner is going to stay he should "massively change the way we do things from now forward, because if this transfer restriction stays, we can't carry on spending as we were".

Support for Acun Ilicali remains strong among many fans. After all, the club's tickets are some of the cheapest in the EFL and then there is the free travel to away matches.

But for the first time, it's fair to say there has now been a real shift from that overwhelming number who welcomed his arrival three years ago.

According to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, The Tigers' cashflow troubles have been the talk of football, as an industry, for some time.

The alarm first sounded when it emerged that the players' wages in May were late. Although they landed in bank accounts without rules being broken, it raised a strong note of caution.

From what fans are saying to us on our phone-ins and on social media, there is a divide.

Some, who until recently were very supportive of the owner, pivoted their opinion when it became clear that some non-footballing suppliers – many of them local businesses – hadn't been paid for a while. At least one of those creditors talked of legal action.

Many have used phrases such as "he needs time" and have even blamed local journalists for sharing negative stories, but others think it's time for the club to change ownership.

One thing that is clear is there is genuine concern among a lot of supporters about the financial red flags that are starting to appear.

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