Chelsea have warned players and staff that their Fantasy Premier League selections could give away confidential team information after fans picked up on a player’s absence before it was announced.
According to The Athletic, Chelsea sent an internal message to staff warning that even small changes to their fantasy teams could allow fans to work out who is fit and who is unavailable before the club makes that information public.
The warning followed Chelsea’s match against Tottenham on 24 October. João Pedro was left out of the squad with a quadriceps injury that Xabi Alonso had not mentioned in his pre-match comments.
FPL followers said they noticed that the Brazilian forward had been dropped from fantasy teams they believed belonged to his teammate Morgan Rogers and several Chelsea staff members. The changes were visible before Chelsea named their squad for the match, which Tottenham won 2–0.
Fantasy Premier League teams become public once the gameweek deadline passes. Anyone tracking accounts believed to belong to club insiders can look for changes that might point to an injury or a return to fitness before the official team sheets are released.
According to the BBC, Chelsea limited their response to a reminder about the risks of using inside information in games where selections are public. The club views it as an isolated incident that greater awareness could prevent from recurring.
Arsenal faced a similar situation before their match against Liverpool. Christos Tzolis picked himself in his fantasy team, which fans took as a sign that he was fit to start after a muscle injury. He duly started at Anfield.
Mikel Arteta reportedly went a step further, asking Arsenal players and staff to leave the club’s players out of their fantasy teams.
