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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Alex Milne

Pep Guardiola admits "unethical" concerns over Fantasy Premier League leaks

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has waded into the debate over the popular online game Fantasy Football.

There was controversy last week after an injury picked up by Aston Villa star Jack Grealish was leaked ahead of his side's game against Leiceste r.

There are suggestions that the information may have been discovered due to the fact a number of Villa players and staff transferred the England international out of their Fantasy Football teams ahead of the match.

And Villa have now banned their squad from playing the game going forward.

Speaking ahead of his side's Champions League clash against Borussia Monchengladbach, Guardiola stated his belief that any team leaks go against his values.

Jack Grealish's injury was leaked ahead of Aston Villa's game against Leicester (Pool via REUTERS)

"I heard what happened about Aston Villa's situation," he said. "I know the players play games but I don’t know what fantasy football is, honestly.

"I’ve never played it and I heard about it for the first time when I listened to the headlines about this situation.

"Sometimes there’s a selection and players are friends with other teams and they talk. Sometimes you make a team selection and players speak to friends on other teams and talk about what you do.

"Sometimes it happens and it is incredibly unethical and unprofessional but you cannot control it."

Meanwhile Sky Sports have reported that all Premier League clubs are being warned about the risks that come with taking part in Fantasy Football.

Officials at a number of teams warned their employees about including players from their own clubs in their teams on the game.

It is believed that automated 'bots' are being used to track the Fantasy Football teams of players and are then sharing the information on social media.

There was a further example of this last month, with Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson transferring Sadio Mane out of his team two days before the Senegalese forward missed a game against Brighton through injury.

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