Fantasy football site issues apology

THE world’s biggest fantasy football game issued an apology yesterday after thousands of users were unable to register teams.

Fantasy Premier League, an online game which involves picking a 15-man squad on a £100 million budget, has more than two million users and had more than 200,000 Irish participants last season but many were unable to log on to register teams or amend previously selected squads 16 hours before Saturday’s 11.30am deadline.

A statement on fantasy.premierleague.com said the problem was caused by the “unprecedented levels of demand on Saturday morning” but admitted the site had fallen short of the standard required.

“As some of you are aware, many fans trying to access Fantasy Premier League on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning will have experienced problems logging in or registering teams prior to the Gameweek 1 deadline,” the statement said.

“While the demand reached unprecedented levels on Saturday morning, we fell short of the standards you expect from the world’s biggest fantasy football game and make no excuses for what was both a frustrating and disappointing experience ahead of the new season. For this we apologise unreservedly.”

The statement added that users will now be allowed to make unlimited transfers until the Gameweek 2 deadline of 11.30am next Saturday.

“No points will be deducted for any transfers you make up to the Gameweek 2 deadline. If you have already made transfers and had points deducted, these will be restored to your overall total.”