Leicester City manager Claude Puel has given his players permission to take off their shirts to reveal tribute messages to the club’s late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha against Burnley when celebrating any goals, even if it means incurring the risk of a yellow card from referee Mike Dean.
Demarai Gray removed his shirt after scoring last weekend as Leicester secured an emotional victory against Cardiff, revealing an undershirt with the tribute “For Khun Vichai”.
Gray was shown a yellow card for the infraction by Lee Probert, provoking widespread criticism of the referee.
Leicester’s match against Burnley today is the first Puel’s side will have played at the King Power Stadium since the tragic helicopter crash and when asked whether he had instructed the players of any future celebrations, the manager said: “I would have no problem if it happened again, the only thing would be a second yellow card.
“He can take off his shirt if he scores, I have no problem with this. I wouldn’t be happy if it was a second yellow card, of course, and the team was down to 10.”
Prior to Saturday’s match, up to 20,000 Leicester fans planned to march together to the stadium in honour of Srivaddhanaprabha while the players will wear special shirts with the late owner’s name embroidered into them.
Puel admitted it has been hard to prepare his players for the game, with the majority of the squad only returning to the country on Tuesday having flown out immediately after the win against Cardiff to attend Srivaddhanaprabha’s funeral
“We didn’t have a lot of training sessions,” Puel said. “We tried to work a little on Wednesday – it was a light training session after the journey. It’s not easy to prepare this game but I think the togetherness between ourselves is a good feeling.
“It gives us good energy, fantastic strength and I think it will compensate with our spirit and positive attitude and all the support from our fans.”
