Leicester cancel flight to Cardiff with plane travel deemed insensitive

Leicester have cancelled plans to fly to Cardiff for Saturday’s Premier League game and the squad will now be driven instead, Sportsmail can reveal.

A collective decision was taken that travelling by plane would be insensitive given the circumstances of chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s tragic death.

There was a sense of unease that Claude Puel’s team might go by air seven days after Srivaddhanaprabha’s helicopter crashed outside the King Power Stadium.

Preparations had been made to depart from East Midlands Airport, as is often the case for away trips, but the club will instead make a three-hour coach journey on Friday.

A number of senior executives appreciated the delicacy of the situation and made the call, which was supported by Puel, all the players and coaching staff.

On Tuesday night, Leicester confirmed the game at Cardiff City Stadium will go ahead and that black armbands will be worn and a minute’s silence observed as a mark of respect for Srivaddhanaprabha’s passing.

Puel’s players trained in earnest on Tuesday, after using Monday’s session to talk through their feelings, and there was said to be a determination to honour the man they call The Boss with their performance in south Wales.

Players had the option to express concerns about returning to action a week after the disaster but the decision to face Neil Warnock’s side was made unanimously.

It is not anticipated that Srivaddhanaprabha’s distraught son Aiyawatt, known as Top, will attend the game. Leicester’s vice-chairman is instead expected to accompany the repatriation of his father’s body back to Thailand for the funeral.

It is thought Top may return for the home fixture against Burnley on November 10. The match coincides with the weekend of Remembrance Sunday.

The impact of Srivaddhanaprabha’s death is still being acutely felt at the club’s Belvoir Drive training base, where bereavement counsellors have been on hand.

After training on Wednesday Jamie Vardy and his wife Rebekah visited the ever-growing memorial site outside the North Stand at the King Power Stadium to lay a wreath. The couple were visibly emotional as they knelt down in front of an image of Srivaddhanaprabha, who sanctioned Vardy’s £1million signing in 2012 — a record sum for a non-League player.

Rebekah had on Sunday posted a picture on Instagram of Srivaddhanaprabha attending their 2016 wedding, writing: ‘You may be gone from our sight but never from our hearts. We lost a member of our extended family, a man that meant the world to us and to so many. Devastated, heartbroken. May you rest in peace.’

Injured player Daniel Amartey, wearing a cast on his left ankle and carrying crutches, also visited the site and said a prayer. The number of flowers, messages, shirts and scarves is increasing each day and the sea of tributes has spread across the entirety of the stand.

Five books of condolence were opened to the public at 8am on Tuesday but by early afternoon a sixth had been added, such was the demand to sign. A steady stream of people came to pay their respects to the man behind Leicester’s miraculous Premier League title triumph. A group of Buddhist monks from local temples arrived and led a service.

Chief executive Susan Whelan, who is also a King Power board member, counted Srivaddhanaprabha as a friend and has driven the organisation of events. Director of football Jon Rudkin was also very close to the Thai businessman and has been providing constant assistance.

Nigel Pearson found warm words on Tuesday for the man who brought him back to Leicester in 2011. Pearson won the Championship under Srivaddhanaprabha, before performing an unlikely rescue mission in the club’s first season back in the Premier League.

Pearson left the club in acrimonious circumstances in the summer of 2015 — with Claudio Ranieri coming in to win the title — but repaired the friendship and he now manages Belgian side OH Leuven, also owned by King Power.

Posting on Leuven’s website, Pearson said: ‘It is with extreme difficulty that I write to express my sincere condolences and support to the Srivaddhanaprabha and wider King Power family. His quiet yet authoritative aura, presence and personality have had an immeasurable influence on English football.

‘The leadership and managerial processes he instilled and encouraged within Leicester City has borne fruit in such a way that the world witnessed the impossible by seeing a club win the Premier League in the most incredible circumstances.

‘On a personal level, a manager could not have wished for a better boss. I have, through both good and difficult times, been afforded an unwavering support which has been a huge motivator and, in personally difficult times, a huge comfort.

His warmth, humour and generosity have always been extended to my own family, something for which we will all be eternally grateful. I will miss his guidance and wisdom and certainly his mischievous sense of humour and singular chuckle! I will miss The Boss.’

The model of helicopter involved in the crash, an AgustaWestland AW169, had a ‘blemish-free’ record. A spokesman for its manufacturer said: ‘This is the first ever accident involving an AW169 helicopter.’

Leicester said an announcement on the postponed Carabao Cup tie against Southampton, scheduled for Tuesday night, will be made in due course.