Half Boro, half Hull babygrow made for play-off

News imageSupplied Baby Beatrice sits atop a kitchen counter wearing a half red and half yellow baby gro. Each side has the respective badges on. She has short red hair and is smiling slightly at the camera, with her hands outstretched. There is a vase of yellow flowers behind her.Supplied
Beatrice's parents support opposing teams in the Championship play-off final

Parents with opposing team allegiances have made a half Middlesbrough, half Hull babygrow for their daughter ahead of Saturday's Championship play-off final.

Boro were reinstated as finalists earlier this week and will face Hull City for a place in the Premier League, after Southampton were expelled for spying on other clubs' training sessions.

Emma Willingham, from Middlesbrough, is a Boro season ticket holder and her husband Simon is a Hull City season ticket holder leaving their daughter Beatrice in an awkward position this weekend.

She said the seven-month-old was "over the moon" with the compromise, despite her parents having tickets to Wembley on opposite sides of the stadium.

A family member would baby-sit Beatrice during the match, she added.

Emma told Radio Tees: "We didn't anticipate that we'd both be trying to get to Wembley at the same time.

"Certainly not this short notice either."

News imageSupplied Emma and Simon Willingham are sitting side by side on a grey sofa with baby Beatrice smiling on their laps. Emma is wearing a red Middlesbrough shirt, and Simon is wearing a black and yellow Hull City shirt. They are all smiling.Supplied
Couple Emma and Simon are on opposite sides of the stadium this weekend

In her frustration with Southampton's spying allegations, Emma purchased a Hull City babygrow last week and had initially planned to support the Tigers in the original match-up "like every other Boro fan".

"I admitted gracious defeat," she said. "But now I can't have her wearing a Hull City babygrow on Saturday, can I?"

She sourced a Boro babygrow from a friend and came up with a creative solution.

Emma said: "Were all just ecstatic to just be going to Wembley and hopefully it'll just be a good, friendly occasion between both sets of fans who, for the integrity of the game, are just going to have a lovely day out in the sun."

Follow BBC Tees on X,Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.