The sacking of Claudio Ranieri just nine months after guiding Leicester City to a sensational Premier League triumph brought a torrent of condemnation on the team’s Thai owners on Friday.
“Disgusting,” former England and Leicester player Gary Lineker said of the decision taken barely two weeks after the owners had given the Italian boss “unwavering support” despite the team’s troubles.
Amid reports of a breakdown in the relationship between Ranieri and senior Leicester players, the British press took a severe line against the owners who announced the bombshell sacking late Wednesday.
“Leicester’s owners were snakes claiming to support Ranieri,” said a Daily Mail tabloid commentary.
“Ranieri reign ends in cruel, brutal fashion,” said the Guardian.
The Sun tabloid said that Ranier’s relationship with key striker Jamie Vardy and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had broken down. But its commentary said the “flops” who cost Ranieri his job should lose their Premier League title medals.
The sacking stunned all of English football after Leicester’s extraordinary exploit in winning the Premier League title by 10 points last season.
“I shed a tear last night – I shed a tear for Claudio, I shed a tear for football and I shed a tear for my club,” former Leicester stalwart Lineker, now a television commentator, said on BBC radio.
“It is inexplicable to me, it’s inexplicable to a lot of football fans who love the game and I suppose you can explain it in terms of a panic decision and for me a wrong decision and it is very sad,” he added.
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