Chelsea Warn Staff After Joao Pedro Injury Appears in Fantasy Football Team Selections
Chelsea have warned staff to be careful about what they reveal through Fantasy Premier League, after striker Joao Pedro's injury appeared to be exposed by team selections.
Fantasy Premier League is the free online game in which more than 11 million people pick virtual squads of real players and earn points from how those players perform on the pitch. Fans often treat team news as a clue to who will play, so a missing name can move a lot of virtual points.
Joao Pedro was a surprise absentee when Chelsea lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham. The club has since said he has a quad injury, a strain to the large muscle at the front of the thigh. BBC Sport reported that Fantasy Premier League content creators claimed Morgan Rogers and several Chelsea staff members had removed Joao Pedro from their teams before kick-off at Stamford Bridge. The club had not announced anything about his fitness at that point.
Chelsea then sent an email to staff. It reminded them of the possible consequences of using inside information when playing Fantasy Premier League or other public gaming platforms.
Xabi Alonso, who joined Chelsea in the summer and is 44, said he was unaware of the leak situation when BBC Sport asked him after the Tottenham game. Earlier, Alonso had said Joao Pedro would be sidelined for weeks with injury.
The problem is not new at Chelsea. During Liam Rosenior's four months as manager last season, team selections were leaked before both legs of the club's Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain. Marc Cucurella's barber also posted on social media that Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer would miss a trip to Brighton, after discussing the matter with Cucurella.
Chelsea do not expect further Fantasy Premier League restrictions. The club sees the Joao Pedro case as a one-off that greater awareness can handle.
The Premier League has not set out specific guidance on whether people connected with clubs should take part in the game. It leaves that decision to individual clubs. Similar problems have surfaced before. In February 2021, Jack Grealish's absence from Aston Villa's team before a match against Leicester City was revealed through Fantasy Premier League. Leicester's then manager, Brendan Rodgers, said he had heard rumours about Grealish's injury before the game, which Leicester won.
For fans, the lesson is simple. A game played by millions can carry a dressing-room secret straight to the public, and the people closest to a team are often the ones who know first.
