Chelsea warn players and staff over accidental Fantasy Premier League leaks

Chelsea have warned their players and staff not to reveal confidential team information through Fantasy Premier League, after the club reportedly believed Joao Pedro’s injury was inadvertently disclosed from within its ranks last month.

According to a report by The Athletic, prominent Fantasy Premier League managers realised that Morgan Rogers and several members of Chelsea’s coaching staff had removed the Brazilian forward from their teams because he was injured and would miss the match against Tottenham.

At that stage, Chelsea had not announced Joao Pedro’s injury, which came before the club’s 2-0 defeat by Tottenham.

When asked about the apparent advance knowledge after the game, Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso said: “I’m not a Fantasy player, so I didn’t know that.”

The report said Alonso has since been particularly cautious when discussing the availability of his players ahead of matches. He declined to rule Joao Pedro out of Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat by Brentford before the September international break, despite the forward having withdrawn from the Brazil squad.

The Athletic reported that the accidental disclosure of team news by players and staff, through their Fantasy Premier League decisions, has become an increasing concern for clubs across the Premier League in recent years.

Some highly observant Fantasy Premier League users have become increasingly skilled at tracking the activity of specific accounts. Changes to a team can sometimes provide an indication that a player is unavailable before the club has officially released information.

Joao Pedro has made a strong start to the season for Chelsea, scoring five goals in six Premier League appearances. However, he has missed the club’s past three league matches because of injury.

Chelsea are fifth in the Premier League table with 16 points, 11 points behind leaders Arsenal.