FPL: Chelsea warn staff against leaking team news

Pedro celebrates as Chelsea beat Bournemouth 5-1 | Club website

Chelsea have warned their staff against inadvertently disclosing confidential team news through Fantasy Premier League selections following concerns that forward Joao Pedro’s injury was revealed before the club made an official announcement.

According to a report by BBC Sport, published on Monday, the club sent an email to staff reminding them of the potential consequences of using inside information when participating in Fantasy Premier League and other public gaming platforms.

The warning followed claims that Pedro’s absence from Chelsea’s squad for their 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham was disclosed through Fantasy Premier League team selections before the match.

The forward was a surprise absentee from the game at Stamford Bridge because of a quad injury, which was subsequently confirmed.

Several prominent Fantasy Premier League content creators reportedly claimed to have seen evidence that Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers and some Chelsea staff members had removed Pedro from their fantasy teams before kick-off, despite the absence of an official injury announcement.

Asked about the alleged leak by BBC Sport after the defeat, Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said he was unaware of the situation.

“I am not into the fantasy team thing, so I didn’t know that,” he said.

Since joining Chelsea in the summer, Alonso, 44, has generally been guarded when discussing injury issues during media conferences, the report noted.

The club has also experienced other incidents involving the disclosure of confidential team information.

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During former manager Liam Rosenior’s four-month spell in charge last season, Chelsea’s team selections were leaked before both legs of their Champions League defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.

The report also recalled an incident involving former Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella, whose barber disclosed on social media that Pedro and Cole Palmer would miss a trip to Brighton last season after discussing the matter with his client.

However, Chelsea is not expected to introduce further restrictions on staff participation in Fantasy Premier League, as the club considers the latest incident an isolated case that can be addressed through greater awareness among players and employees.

BBC Sport also reported that there had been other alleged instances involving players at Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester City and Newcastle United making revealing changes to their fantasy teams.

One of the most prominent cases involved former Aston Villa forward Jack Grealish, whose omission from the squad ahead of a February 2021 match against Leicester City was reportedly revealed through Fantasy Premier League activity.

Leicester’s then-manager, Brendan Rodgers, later said he had been aware of rumours surrounding Grealish’s injury absence before the match, which his side won.

More than 11 million people reportedly play Fantasy Premier League, which has become an increasingly prominent part of the wider football ecosystem.

Although the Premier League has strict rules prohibiting gambling, it does not provide specific guidance to clubs on how players and other personnel should participate in Fantasy Premier League.

Instead, the matter is generally left to individual clubs to manage.