VARDY IS A CHEAT, CLAIMS BAD BOY NASRI
SAMIR NASRI has branded Jamie Vardy a cheat for his part in the red card that reduced Sevilla to ten men in Leicester’s dramatic Champions League victory. The Frenchman claimed Vardy feigned falling towards the floor and said: ‘I thought the English player was tougher than that.’ Nasri was given a second booking for pushing his head into Vardy, who was also shown a yellow card, but reacted furiously once sent off. He refused to leave the pitch and appeared to beckon Vardy down the tunnel to continue the dispute. While admitting he had been foolish in his actions, Nasri also made the bold claim that it was only the TV cameras and security personnel who stopped his attempts to seek further retribution. Nasri said: ‘He pushed me and I said: “What are you doing?” Then he came close to me. He played it well. We went face to face and then he fell on the floor. I thought the English player was tougher than that. For me, he is a cheat. Because if he was a foreign player, the English press would say he is a cheat. Play the game like a man. ‘You are not better than us but you are winning 2-0, you will qualify, just play the game. You have quality, you are an international player, you don’t need to do that. I would love to speak to him, but, you know, too many cameras, too much security, and I have to think about next year and not getting a big suspension. You would not be able to write what I would say to him.’ Danny Simpson defended his team-mate by insisting Nasri only had himself to blame. ‘He’s an experienced player and he’ll probably look back and think he has let his team down,’ said Simpson. Vardy rejected Nasri’s allegations in a statement: ‘I’m not a cheat and I never have been. That’s all I’ve got to say on the matter.’ A Leicester spokesman added: ‘The club refutes entirely any allegation that questions the professional integrity of Jamie or any of its players.’