(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Following the club’s owner death in a helicopter crash at the weekend, Leicester Manager Claude Puel has declared that the result of their first match after the sad incident with Cardiff Saturday is “not important” but to honour the late CEO.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others were killed in the crash outside King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Puel said it was the Leicester players’ decision to go ahead with the Premier League match in Cardiff.
“Playing football has not been at front of our minds this week,” he said.
“But for this weekend, and all the matches thereafter, we play to honour a man who did so much for our club.
“The result is not important, but our desire, our actions to give our best on the pitch to honour our chairman, is the most important thing. I’m confident after I saw my players at training that they can give their best.”
Leicester Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was one of the first players on the scene after the helicopter crashed.
“Kasper… he lives this situation and he saw a lot of things,” says Puel. “Kasper, like the other players, has a lot of history with the chairman and they are all devastated.
“We have a responsibility about the memory and work he Srivaddhanaprabha put in place. It was first words from Kasper, we have this responsibility.”
It would be recalled that Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie between Leicester and Southampton at King Power Stadium was postponed in the aftermath of Saturday’s crash.
All Premier League matches this weekend will be preceded by a minute’s silence, and players will wear black armbands.
