Leicester City players attend funeral of late owner
bangkok — Leicester City players attended the funeral for club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, killed in a helicopter crash a week ago, at a Bangkok temple on Sunday on the second day of a ceremony due to last one week.
The 60-year-old Thai billionaire died on Oct. 27 with four others when his helicopter crashed next to Leicester’s King Power Stadium. The seven-day funeral started on Saturday in Bangkok.
The team — including manager Claude Puel, striker Jamie Vardy and dozens of others — were seen arriving at the temple clad in black suits to pay their respects to the King Power founder. They travelled to Thailand on Saturday after winning an English Premier League match against Cardiff City, where tributes were brought onto the pitch before the game in memory of Vichai.
Vichai bought Leicester in 2010. The team went on to stun the soccer world by winning the Premier League title against the odds in 2016.
Sunday marks the second day of a week-long ceremony held at Wat Thepsirin, one of Bangkok’s most famous temples which typically serves as the site for funerals of very important Thais.
Over the coming days Thailand’s business and political elites are expected to visit the temple to pay their respects, while monks will chant Buddhist verses over the duty-free mogul’s body.
Vichai, 60, died last week, along with four others, when his helicopter crashed and burst into flames moments after taking off from Leicester’s pitch following a match.
His death sent shockwaves through Leicester, where the charismatic Vichai had become a beloved figure in the club and the city — a feat rarely achieved by the Premier League’s foreign owners.
It was under Vichai’s ownership that Leicester crafted one of the biggest fairytales in English football history by winning the 2015/16 Premier League, having started the season as 5,000-1 outsiders for the title
On Saturday the team played at Cardiff City, their first match since his death, with players from both teams coming together to pay their respects before the game.
Massive banners featuring Thailand’s flag saying “R.I.P. Vichai” moved across the stadium, and the crowd observed a minute of silence. Fans wore T-shirts with Vichai’s picture on it, underneath the words “The Boss”. —