Orgy shame footballers flying back to UK

Three shamed Leicester players who allegedly filmed themselves in an orgy in which a Thai woman was racially abused are flying home this morning amid calls for them to be sacked.

The Barclays Premier League club said they were “deeply concerned” and have launched an investigation after the emergence of footage apparently showing three squad members in a sex session in which a woman is called a “slit eye”.

Defender James Pearson, 22 – the son of the club’s manager Nigel – striker Tom Hopper, 21, and goalkeeper Adam Smith, 22, all appear naked in the video, obtained by the Sunday Mirror.

In a statement the club, owned by Thai billionaires, said the players “would like to convey their sincere apologies for their behaviour – to the women involved in the incident, to the club and its owners, to the club’s fans and to their families”.

But fans and members of the Thai community have called for the trio to be sacked, and the players were flying back to the UK where they will be investigated by the midlands club.

Piara Powar, the executive director of the Football Against Racism in Europe, accused the stars of being “privileged young men” who were “exerting their power” over women and “demeaning them sexually and racially abusing them”.

He added: “There is no point in pretending that videos like this aren’t made and shared all the time, but the arrogance of doing it while on a goodwill trip to the country of your owners, the people paying your salaries, is mind blowing.

“The fact that they are Premier League footballers, and one of them is the manager’s son, means that there is a responsibility to behave, like it or not.

“I hear Nigel Pearson takes a strong stance against discrimination. It’s a shame he hasn’t passed the message on to his players and even more of a shame his son doesn’t get it.”

The video appears to show the three men naked in a hotel room laughing and egging each other on while they make racist and crude remarks as Thai women engage in sex acts.

One of the players also appears to call one of the women “minging – an absolute one out of 10” as his friends laugh.

The shocking video was reportedly filmed while players were touring the country celebrating staying up in the top flight.

It is alleged the trio shared the explicit video with friends back in the UK.

Fans told of their disgust on the fans forum FoxesTalk and called for the players to have their contracts torn up because of the “inexcusable behaviour”.

The scandal is a huge embarrassment for the club. Leicester City are owned by Thai billionaires father and son Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who have pumped millions into the club and building their fan-base in the Far East.

Manager Nigel Pearson is a patron of the charity Show Racism the Red Card, which uses the high profile football enjoys to campaign against racism.