Grealish's Aston Villa absence leaked through Fantasy Premier League

In February 2021, Aston Villa's captain Jack Grealish missed the Premier League home game against Leicester City, which Villa lost 2-1. The absence became widely known before the club confirmed it, and the route was an unusual one: Fantasy Premier League, the official online game in which fans pick squads of real players.

Reports said that people connected with Villa, apparently including players, had removed Grealish from their own fantasy teams before the weekly transfer deadline. Fans who tracked such changes spotted the move and shared it on social media. The club's official confirmation of a leg injury came only about an hour before kick-off.

Villa manager Dean Smith was unhappy that the news had spread and said the club would look into how it happened. Newspapers reported that Villa considered restricting players from fantasy football, though the details of any rule were not clearly confirmed. Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said he had heard of the absence beforehand.

The episode showed how fantasy games can expose confidential team news, and it is often cited when clubs warn staff and players about using them.