BBC Radio Leicester Sport have now been told by a Leicester City spokesperson that there has in fact been a Covid-19 ‘breach’, after viral rumours in the build-up to today’s hammering defeat to West Ham.
Brendan Rodgers told Sky via Leicestershire Live that James Maddison and Ayoze Perez were not ‘available’, but didn’t offer a reason and stated they’d return for the FA Cup semi-final vs Southampton.
The Telegraph have since confirmed social media rumours alleging that Maddison, Perez and academy graduate Hamza Choudhury attended an illegal house party.
This comes after legend and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker shared that the rumours were probably ‘true’ just 20 minutes into their tie against the Hammers, with that claiming five players broke rules.
The Telegraph believe that big-money striker Perez hosted the party, whilst the club’s recent statement adds that those involved have ‘apologised’ for their ‘poor judgement’.
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Leicester City: “[It] had the potential to undermine the efforts of Club staff to protect the environments in which our teams train and play. Appropriate measures have been taken to prevent our team bubbles being compromised”
— BBC Leicester Sport (@BBCRLSport) April 11, 2021
Leicester City: “Those involved have apologised for their poor judgement. Our response to the matter will be concluded internally.”
— BBC Leicester Sport (@BBCRLSport) April 11, 2021
Very much hope these rumours that 5 @lcfc players were left out for going to a house party and breaking Covid rules are not true. I fear they probably are. ?
— Gary Lineker ? (@GaryLineker) April 11, 2021
This news was bad enough, with their loyal fans that have perhaps missed out on precious family time by sticking to the Covid-19 regulations bound to be furious, but it also comes on the day of a defeat.
The Hammers have now bowed out 3-2 to West Ham in a massive matchup between the two outside contenders for a Champions League spot this season.
The 3-2 scoreline isn’t really a fair reflection of the game either, with the Foxes down 3-0 until the 70th minute before a brace from top-flight Player of the Month Kelechi Iheanacho only acted as a consolation.
Lineker was spot on with his ‘probably true’ talk, just look at the Leicester bench for the defeat to the Hammers, it included several youngsters with little to no first-team experience, with all respect they wouldn’t usually be included were it not for late injuries or in this case Covid-19 breaches.
Season falls apart yet again, will probably end up 7th. or 8th. Lose to Southampton in FA Cup and will fail to attract big names in transfer period. I can see the likes of Barnes and Tielmans moving to clubs with more committed players.One has to question Managers ability to instill discipline. Very disappointing.