Leicester City

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri blasts Jamie Vardy decision

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 23 December 2016

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri says that the Football Association's refusal to overturn Jamie Vardy's three-game ban makes him "very sad for football".

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri has claimed that he is "very sad for football" after the Football Association failed to overturn Jamie Vardy's three-game suspension following a red card last weekend.

Vardy was sent off in the first period of Leicester's 2-2 draw with Stoke City following a late challenge on Mame Biram Diouf, although the seriousness of the tackle has been widely debated over the last week.

Leicester lost their appeal against the decision earlier this week and Ranieri has admitted that he is still flabbergasted that the England international will miss his team's next three matches.

"All in England, all the world [people] watch the foul and say it's not a foul. We made an appeal because we believe in something right and we are very disappointed in the result, because when we make a mistake, or when my players make a mistake, we don't appeal. But that wasn't a foul," Ranieri told reporters.

"There is a big fight between Glen Johnson and Vardy. Johnson pushes a little more, Vardy loses his body control, and when he arrives he touches the ball. He touched the ball. That's it. I am, and all our club is, very surprised. I'm not angry. I'm very sad for football."

Vardy will miss Leicester's next three Premier League matches against Everton, West Ham United and Middlesbrough.