10th November 2026
November 10 – Chelsea have reminded staff to be careful with their Fantasy Premier League teams after João Pedro’s injury appeared to leak through squad changes before the defeat to Tottenham.
Several FPL content creators said they had seen Morgan Rogers and some Chelsea staff remove Pedro from their fantasy teams before kick-off at Stamford Bridge, with the club making no announcement about his quad injury. Chelsea lost 2-0.
An email has since reminded staff of the consequences of using inside information on public gaming platforms.
“I am not into the fantasy team thing, so I didn’t know that,” coach Xabo Alonso told BBC Sport. Given the manager has been notably guarded about injuries since arriving in the summer, it must be frustrating to watch the information leave the building through a points-scoring app.
It is not the club’s first leak. Under Liam Rosenior last season, team selections emerged before both legs of the Champions League defeat to PSG. And former defender Marc Cucurella’s barber revealed on social media that Pedro and Cole Palmer would miss a trip to Brighton after chatting with his client in the chair.
Chelsea see the FPL episode as isolated and are not planning further restrictions.
They are hardly alone. FPL trackers have linked accounts to players and staff at Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester and Newcastle. The most famous case came in February 2021, when Jack Grealish’s absence for Aston Villa against Leicester was flagged by fantasy managers before the match. Brendan Rodgers later admitted he had heard the rumours. Leicester won.
More than 11 million people play the game. While players are strictly banned from betting, the Premier League gives clubs no specific guidance on FPL, leaving it to each club to manage.