Chelsea have reminded their staff about the dangers of inadvertently revealing internal team selections through Fantasy Premier League after Joao Pedro's recent injury appeared to be exposed online. An email sent across the club cautioned employees about the potential consequences of applying insider knowledge on public gaming platforms, where individual fantasy decisions can effectively signal which players are sidelined or nearing a comeback.
The internal warning came in the wake of Chelsea's 2-0 home defeat against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, where Pedro was unexpectedly left out of the squad due to a quad problem that had not been officially disclosed. Several prominent Fantasy Premier League content creators highlighted evidence showing that forward Morgan Rogers, alongside various Chelsea staff members, had removed Pedro from their fantasy line-ups before the game began. Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso, who is 44 and has maintained a guarded approach regarding injuries since taking charge in the summer, told BBC Sport he was unaware of the situation, adding: "I am not into the fantasy team thing, so I didn't know that." Pedro has not featured for the team since their victory over Everton last month.
Chelsea have encountered information leaks in the past. During former manager Liam Rosenior's four-month stint last season, starting line-ups were leaked ahead of both legs of the club's Champions League elimination against Paris St-Germain. Additionally, it previously surfaced that former defender Marc Cucurella's barber shared on social media that both Pedro and Cole Palmer would miss an away match at Brighton after speaking with the player. Despite these past occurrences, Chelsea currently view the recent fantasy situation as an isolated incident that can be handled through internal vigilance rather than additional restrictions.
Similar patterns have been observed across the top flight, with revealing fantasy activity previously linked to figures connected to Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester, and Newcastle. The most notable precedent occurred in February 2021, when news of then Aston Villa forward Jack Grealish's squad absence leaked ahead of a match against Leicester City, with then Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers acknowledging he was aware of the injury speculation before his side's victory. While more than 11 million people play Fantasy Premier League, the Premier League provides no specific guidance to clubs concerning fantasy participation—unlike its strict anti-gambling rules—leaving teams to handle the matter independently.
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