Fantasy football Twitter user @insider_fpl attracted attention this month when it revealed Aston Villa players and staff had removed Jack Grealish from their teams; it was revealed later in the week the Villa captain was injured; clubs concerned leaks could aid opponents
Wednesday 3 March 2021 11:59, UK
The fantasy football Twitter account at the centre of team news 'leaks' has agreed to hide the identities of backroom staff at all 20 Premier League clubs.
The Norwegian-based @insider_fpl - which tracks the fantasy football teams of Premier League players and staff - made headlines after revealing that several Aston Villa squad members and a club physio had taken Jack Grealish out of their fantasy starting XIs ahead of their game against Leicester on February 21.
No news regarding Grealish's potential absence had been made public by the club, but when the teams were announced Grealish was absent through injury.
Villa manager Dean Smith was unhappy at the way news of his captain's fitness issue had become public and promised an investigation.
While @insider_fpl will no longer publish the names of backroom staff with Fantasy Premier League accounts, it will continue to flag which club a particular account is linked to.
The names of players will continue to be revealed.
Accounts belonging to a Premier League head of performance analysis, a club doctor, a kit man and even one club's chef all continue to feature on @insider_fpl's timeline.
Despite the concerns over sensitive information becoming public, many Premier League player's accounts also continue to feature.
Diogo Jota transferring Adrian into his starting XI ahead of Liverpool's trip to Sheffield United last weekend was highlighted. The goalkeeper went on to make his first start for the club since October in their 2-0 win.
Less than a month after going online, @insider_fpl has highlighted around 100 transfers in and out of the fantasy teams belonging to players and staff.
The monitoring of so many fantasy football accounts belonging to club staff has led to several Premier League clubs discussing how best to make sure no clues are offered up to their opposition.
Players and staff are not breaking any league rules or regulations when playing Fantasy Premier League, which has more than seven million participants worldwide.
But it is thought the problem could continue to grow as more accounts belonging to players and staff are identified and tracked online.
One solution could be for clubs to ask players and staff not to pick players from their club in their fantasy sides.
