Aston Villa players 'banned' from fantasy football, Jack Grealish injury leak under investigation
ByReuters
Updated 22/02/2021 at 19:15 GMT
News of an injury to Jack Grealish being leaked onto social media has not gone down well with Aston Villa boss Dean Smith. Aston Villa are eighth in the Premier League standings with 36 points after 23 games and play Leeds United, 12th with 32 points from 24 games, at Elland Road on Saturday.
Jack Grealish
Image credit: Getty Images
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith may have solidified his side's defence but he will now have to plug a leak at his club after news of Jack Grealish's injury spread on social media before Sunday's 2-1 Premier League home defeat by Leicester City.
Grealish missed the game due to a minor leg injury, with Smith saying after the match that the England international felt discomfort in training and the problem is "not a recurrence of an old injury and not long-term".
The news of Grealish's injury had emerged on social media a day before Villa's game against Leicester.
"I've been made aware that on social media there'd been rumours that he wasn't going to play," Smith said.
"If it's coming out of our training ground then I will find out where that's coming from and reprimand where it's coming from.
It's something I wouldn't be happy with and we'll get to the bottom of it.
The Times reported on Monday that the Birmingham-based club's players had been banned from participating in the popular Fantasy Premier League game over concerns about team news being leaked online.
Competitors in the online game create a team of real players and collect points when they score goals, make saves or provide assists on the pitch.
A Twitter account called FPL insider pointed out that Villa's Matt Targett, Conor Hourihane and Neil Taylor as well as two staff members all transferred Grealish out of their fantasy squads ahead of the game's transfer deadline on Friday.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement