Ten years after a legendary, against-the-odds Premier League triumph, five years since winning the FA Cup, and a single season after dropping out of the top flight, Leicester City will be relegated to the third tier of English football.
For a club that experienced real tragedy not long ago it would be misguided to indulge in excessive hyperbole, but a second straight relegation is a sporting disaster, certainly one of the most spectacular falls in the recent history of the domestic game. After their six-point deduction for breaking financial regulations, Leicester fans may wonder what has become of the ongoing case against Manchester City. But they chanted “Sack the board” at the final whistle, and that anger directed at the club’s hierarchy spilled outside the stadium, with a sizeable crowd lingering long after the game and noisily expressing their fury.
The reasons for Leicester’s demise are numerous but on a highly charged night it was a howler by their goalkeeper Asmir Begovic that handed promotion-chasing Hull the advantage. No one could accuse Leicester of lacking fight: a Jordan James penalty sparked a second-half comeback, but Oli McBurnie’s clinical equaliser ultimately sealed their fate. “That was probably a performance we should have showed 10 or 12 games ago,” said the Leicester manager Gary Rowett, who was appointed in February on a contract until the end of the season. “Because there was a lot of energy, a lot of drive, a bit of desperation in there … I’ll take accountability for my part. I knew it was a tough situation when I came in.”
The King Power Stadium had been bathed in golden spring sunshine before kick-off, which jarred with the severity of Leicester’s plight. The Foxes started fast, Patson Daka steering a lobbed effort over inside five minutes before Divine Mukasa drove a low shot wide. But Hull threatened on the counter: Liam Millar nearly caught the hosts out with a charge down the right.
Then calamity arrived for Leicester. When McBurnie put Begovic under pressure in his penalty area, the goalkeeper played a ludicrously careless pass intended for Jamaal Lascelles. The ball missed its target and Millar was on hand to curl in a smart finish. The away fans, who had already been chanting “You’re going down with the Wednesday”, raised the volume further. Leicester were exposed again when a classy diagonal pass from Mohamed Belloumi found Millar in space on Hull’s left, but the Canada international blazed over after cutting in on his right foot. Six minutes before the break Leicester’s best chance yet arrived when a diving Daka deflected a Luke Thomas cross wide. A flicked effort by Hull’s Matt Crooks, just before the break, was repelled – narrowly keeping Leicester’s apparently impossible dream alive.
Even victory would have left Leicester relying on a far-fetched set of results to save them. Still, the mood profoundly changed soon after half-time. A corner was taken short to Abdul Fatawu and Lewis Koumas, a half-time substitute for Hull’s Belloumi, clipped his opponent: penalty for Leicester. James, having been made to wait, confidently drilled in his 11th goal of the season from the spot and the home fans suddenly started to believe. Even more so when a flying Thomas volleyed in their second goal two minutes later. The furious Hull manager, Sergej Jakirovic, was sent off by the referee, Thomas Kirk, as home fans celebrated.
When Harry Winks appeared as a substitute for James, on the hour mark, the boos were deafening after his altercation with fans following the weekend defeat at Portsmouth. The mood darkened even more when McBurnie capitalised on more generous defending to slam in an equaliser for Hull, a high-quality assist coming from Millar. The visitors continued to look the more likely side to score, Semi Ajayi nodding just wide from a corner.
Aaron Ramsey, on for Skipp, was one of several Leicester players to threaten the visitors’ goal in a fraught finale packed with chances at both ends. With five minutes left Ivor Pandur, the Hull goalkeeper, scythed down Daka on the edge of the area, bringing a yellow card, but Leicester failed to capitalise on the resulting set piece. Two wins out of 20 league matches in 2026? It was always relegation form. “It’s a wonderful football club,” said the Hull assistant coach, Dean Holden, of Leicester. “It’s such a shame to see where they are. I really mean that: they were everyone’s second-favourite team 10 years ago.”
Asked about the potential for a full-time appointment, Rowett said: “I think anybody would like that challenge, anybody would like to rebuild it … but that’s not for me to worry about.”
