Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers defends James Maddison over casino trip after pulling out of England squad

Support: Rodgers says recent reports about Maddison's character are false.
Action Images via Reuters
Andy Hampson17 October 2019

Brendan Rodgers has defended James Maddison after the Leicester City midfielder was pictured in a casino following his withdrawal from the England squad last week.

Maddison was taken ill ahead of England's Euro 2020 qualifier in the Czech Republic on Friday and returned home.

The 22-year-old was then spotted on Friday evening in a casino while England were losing the match.

Leicester boss Rodgers admits this was ill-advised but says some of the wider reporting around the incident, particularly with reference to Maddison's character, is not true.

"It was a difficult period for him, there is no doubt, because obviously what was portrayed in an article in the press was wasn't quite how it was, which is not a big surprise," Rodgers told a news conference.

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"The kid went away with the international team, he took ill whilst he was away. He wanted to stay, and hopefully be ready for the second game, but the England medical staff - and you can understand it, he's got flu - they don't want it to spread his team-mates. They decide that it's best for him to to to leave the camp.

"So he leaves. He gets some tablets with our guys here at the club. He feels better. He watches the game at home on his own on the Friday.

"And he then goes out at half-time. Probably he'll make better decisions in his life, but he went to a casino on his own, to sit and watch the second half by a poker table.

"Now the suggestions are he left England purposely and then goes to casino - it's totally not the case at all.

Maddison pulled out of the squad to face Czech Republic due to illness  Photo: AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

"But his eyes have been opened to the wider world now in terms of what he did. He knows in hindsight that he's made a mistake.

"But I want to reiterate, because this is a player I have seen (of) in the last few months various stories around his arrogance, around his mentality. They're totally false.

"I'm not sure where the stories are coming from, but it's not what this boy's about. He's a very talented player, he has a belief in his ability. He is a wonderful personality on the field and he's actually a really, really good boy off it."

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