Terrified Jamie Vardy a victim of a cancerous culture of hate in society

So it turns out Jamie Vardy is not having a party. Not since Claudio Ranieri left the King Power Stadium.

Having been depicted as part of a squad who cost the Italian his job less than a year after he coached an assortment of 5,000-1 waifs and strays to the Premier League, Vardy and his companions have been described as snakes, traitors and saboteurs in various outposts.

While some will argue Leicester’s form since Ranieri departed last month make such views fair comment, with Eric Cantona making a comical assessment of Leicester as "ungrateful brats" on this website, the imagery is not meant to be taken literally. Football is a form of theatre, escapism to enjoy and encourage healthy debate and opinion.

It is not meant to end up with Vardy fearing for the safety of himself, his wife or his kids.

The news that Leicester have offered the England striker increased security after he received death threats is worrying for the player, another disturbing incident of a power without responsibility that has become a cancerous emblem of modern society’s ills.

Once the sole preserve of newspaper proprietors, having an agenda to suit your own narrative is suddenly the natural domain of social media and the millions of rabid publishers who can make ridiculous unsupported comments on the basis of hearsay.

Vardy, a player who rejected a move to Arsenal after scoring 24 goals in 38 outings last season, is one of those blokes who fans love to hate, but seems to have been portrayed as the ring leader behind Ranieri’s sacking.

There used to be an era when a side’s poor level of performance prompted derision from the stands on a Saturday afternoon, but that is where it ended. These days, it can carry on all day and all night to stoke a false sense of outrage that exists because latent anger is ready to be stirred up, as we witnessed in the bile of Brexit.

The simple facts of the Ranieri dismissal hints at a group of players who excelled themselves last season, and lost their form. A manager who stayed too loyal to them for too long paid a predictable price for their demise, perhaps failing to sufficiently motivate them.

The owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha decided he did not want to risk relegation to the Championship, and Ranieri was jettisoned, a sequence of events encouraged by the Premier League's pressurised environs.

It was a harsh sacking, but Leicester's results seem to vindicate the decision with four straight wins and a place in the Champions League quarter-final secured. But some are unwilling to move on.

There is a lot of angry people out there as Vardy has discovered. More shockingly his wife Rebekah and kids have become part of the debate for warped characters with a grievance about as far removed from reality as their version of truth.

"Once that is out there people pick it up and jump on it and you’re getting death threats about your family, kids, everything,” said Vardy about the invective.

“I just get on with it but when people are trying to cut your missus up while she’s driving along, with the kids in the back of the car, it’s not the best. It’s happened plenty of times.

“It’s terrifying.”

Of course, the pond life that clamps itself to such conduct is driven by envy, perhaps subconsciously, because footballers earning millions are easy targets. Wayne Rooney is derided, mocked and ridiculed despite being a Manchester United icon, and England's greatest striker.

Vardy is a victim of those struggling with a sense of self-loathing. It is not Vardy's fault he is successful, rich and a Premier League winner. As a public figure he deserves protection and support from the unhinged who seek to harm him.

Jamie Vardy is also another depressing example of a country that hates its heroes.