LONDON -- Hull City boss Sergej Jakirović has said that he "started to laugh" when he first heard about the 'Spygate' scandal that has engulfed this season's Championship playoffs, adding that if it were to happen in his country "nothing happens."
Jakirović, who was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also holds Croatian citizenship, led Hull to the Premier League on Saturday as they came out late 1-0 winners against Middlesbrough.
Hull's original opponents were to be Southampton after they beat Boro over two legs in the semifinal, but after Southampton were found guilty of spying on opponents this season, including Boro before the first leg, Kim Hellberg's side were reinstated to the semifinal and the Saints were expelled.
The scandal has meant a disrupted preparation for both sides with Hull only receiving confirmation they would have to face Boro in the final on Wednesday.
The EFL's independent disciplinary commission's report on the events detailed that the 'spy' was sent to check on a key player's availability. Boro's Hayden Hackney was out injured at the time.
But amid the furore surrounding Southampton and head coach Tonda Eckert's actions, Jakirović was able to see the lighter side after securing promotion.
"This Friday, two weeks ago when I heard for the first time after my first leg, I started to laugh because what you can spy there?" he told a news conference.
"I know everything about the Championship, about every club, about every manager, about every player, because this is my job.
"Okay, you can know [Hayden] Hackney will play, but if you call one angry player in [their] team, he can say to you, 'Hackney will play. I'm not playing, he will play.'
"He's angry, that happens in football, but to send the guy to do this, I don't understand this. I start to laugh and then I see, because in my country it'll be 'ha ha ha,' nothing will happen, but here I see that it's too serious.
"And then Tuesday we had tactical training for Southampton and then in the evening, change completely everything, but we prepare our team no matter who will be our opponent."
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Middlesbrough coach Hellberg, on the other hand, labelled the playoffs as the most difficult fortnight of his managerial career.
"It was the toughest two weeks I've been through with emotions and back and forth and handling those things," the Swede told reporters at Wembley.
"From the game and the extra time [in the semifinal vs. Southampton] and how that game ended from the first game when we come to the stadium and how we handled that first half and didn't score.
"And it's been a back-and-forth with so many emotions, seeing players and the staff and the supporters sad and after that and then back and forth and back and forth [in and out of the playoffs].
"So it's been tough. It's been draining emotionally, but there's no excuse. Hull, scored a goal today and again, you have to congratulate them and we were ready to play the game."
Hellberg added that the unity the club have shown over the course of the ordeal makes the defeat at the final hurdle feel that much worse.
"It's been very, very special because it's been two heartbreaking losses in one week. It makes it very, very tough in terms of [an] emotional drain in a way that I think is tough now," he said.
"So when the game was ended, you also feel very, very empty.
"Disappointed, sad for everyone, but also very, very flat in emotions in terms of all the things you put into the year and then training and then the players, the supporters.
"As I said, I wish I could have done better and that's what we always go to. I wish I could have done better through this period, find better solutions when we didn't score those goals, put those games to [bed].
"And that's what football comes down to and it's my responsibility during the break to develop myself and help those players.
"It's been a very, very weird situation. And again, there's no excuse in that. It's just been very, very tough [going] back and forth."