Why Leicester City fans are wearing yellow and protesting in the 14th minute against Arsenal
Leicester City fans have had enough, and they are set to protest in the game against Arsenal live on talkSPORT this weekend. The Foxes have endured a horrid season in the Premier League, finding themselves in the relegation zone. It has been a campaign to forget for Leicester so farGetty However, this protest isn’t just about what is happening on the pitch; there is more to it. As a result, many Leicester supporters will be wearing yellow this weekend, with a pre-match march and vocal protest planned on the 14th minute at the King Power Stadium. Why are Leicester fans wearing yellow and protesting on the 14th minute against Arsenal? It’s pretty simple: many fans have had enough of how the club has been run in recent years. There is an air of grace afforded to the owner, Khun ‘Top’ Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, but fingers are being firmly pointed at his second-in-command, Director of Football Jon Rudkin. ‘Top’ is the son of late Leicester owner Vichai, who sadly passed away in a horrific helicopter crash at the King Power Stadium in 2018. He famously turned Leicester into one of the best-run clubs in the Premier League and also was chairman and owner when they incredibly won the title in the 2015/16 campaign. But since then the Foxes have suffered relegation and financial woes, largely owing to perceived mismanagement at an operational level, and one group of fans have had enough. These Leicester supporters have formed together under the banner ‘Project Reset’. It’s been a tough time for Leicester fans since winning the Premier League and FA CupGetty A peaceful protest march is planned from the Local Hero pub at 11:30am to the King Power Stadium, while everyone involved has been asked to wear yellow. At the end of the match, fans have been encouraged to gather in the East Stand to be shown on the TV cameras. This is because yellow is a significant colour in Thailand, a not-so-subtle dig at the ownership, while in the 14th minute of the game, there will also be a vocal protest. The reason it is on the 14th minute is because in 2017, on deadline day, the club failed to register Adrian Silva by 14 seconds, meaning he couldn’t play until January 2018. This is seen as symptomatic of the poor planning and lack of due diligence at the club over the years. The protestors want transparency from the club over why they’ve gone from being champions and regularly in Europe to heading for a second relegation in the space of three years. As director of football, Rudkin is the target of a lot of ire, after a succession of poor decision making. The situation has worsened after a January transfer window of little activity, in which the Foxes made one signing. Woyo Couilbaly arrived for a reported £3 million, while in the summer, Steve Cooper oversaw a £50 million net spend before being sacked. Ruud van Nistelrooy wasn’t provided with significant reinforcements and must now try to save Leicester from demotion back to the Championship. Project Reset's Leicester concerns The absence of trust — a lack of transparency and communication from the club to the fans Fear of conflict — a reluctance to make quick and impactful decisions since the death of Khun Vichai A lack of commitment — ‘a loss of any long-standing semblance of a footballing identity’ Avoidance of accountability — that the same decision-makers remain in place after the 2023 relegation and that Rudkin’s vision for the football operation has not been communicated to the supporters Inattention to results — that the club is on a spiralling trend that the hierarchy have not taken action to address, leaving many fans resigned to what they feel is an inevitable relegation unless immediate action is taken. Beyond that, there are massive concerns over trust, with the board seen to be operating in secret. With a lack of communication, supporters feel as if they’ve become profit centres. The members of Project Reset believe that the club has lacked a clear identity regarding managers and their styles. For example, Dean Smith, Enzo Maresca and Cooper are all very different to each other. This also applies to transfers and explains why Rudkin is the target of so much anger. This isn’t a protest aimed at those on the pitch, it is totally at the board. It has nothing to do with Van Nistelrooy, and the fans will be backing the players all they can on Saturday. But it is clear that some feel the constant mistakes at the club have gone on long enough. Van Nistelrooy was not backed in the winter transfer window This protest has the support of talkSPORT’s Chief Football Reporter, Alex Crook, although he feels the way fans have treated managers in recent years has been harsh. Speaking on White and Jordan, he said: “I understand why Jon Rudkin is getting the flak. “I wasn’t happy when the f
Leicester City fans have had enough, and they are set to protest in the game against Arsenal live on talkSPORT this weekend.
The Foxes have endured a horrid season in the Premier League, finding themselves in the relegation zone.
However, this protest isn’t just about what is happening on the pitch; there is more to it.
As a result, many Leicester supporters will be wearing yellow this weekend, with a pre-match march and vocal protest planned on the 14th minute at the King Power Stadium.
Why are Leicester fans wearing yellow and protesting on the 14th minute against Arsenal?
It’s pretty simple: many fans have had enough of how the club has been run in recent years.
There is an air of grace afforded to the owner, Khun ‘Top’ Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, but fingers are being firmly pointed at his second-in-command, Director of Football Jon Rudkin.
‘Top’ is the son of late Leicester owner Vichai, who sadly passed away in a horrific helicopter crash at the King Power Stadium in 2018.
He famously turned Leicester into one of the best-run clubs in the Premier League and also was chairman and owner when they incredibly won the title in the 2015/16 campaign.
But since then the Foxes have suffered relegation and financial woes, largely owing to perceived mismanagement at an operational level, and one group of fans have had enough.
These Leicester supporters have formed together under the banner ‘Project Reset’.
A peaceful protest march is planned from the Local Hero pub at 11:30am to the King Power Stadium, while everyone involved has been asked to wear yellow.
At the end of the match, fans have been encouraged to gather in the East Stand to be shown on the TV cameras.
This is because yellow is a significant colour in Thailand, a not-so-subtle dig at the ownership, while in the 14th minute of the game, there will also be a vocal protest.
The reason it is on the 14th minute is because in 2017, on deadline day, the club failed to register Adrian Silva by 14 seconds, meaning he couldn’t play until January 2018.
This is seen as symptomatic of the poor planning and lack of due diligence at the club over the years.
The protestors want transparency from the club over why they’ve gone from being champions and regularly in Europe to heading for a second relegation in the space of three years.
As director of football, Rudkin is the target of a lot of ire, after a succession of poor decision making.
The situation has worsened after a January transfer window of little activity, in which the Foxes made one signing.
Woyo Couilbaly arrived for a reported £3 million, while in the summer, Steve Cooper oversaw a £50 million net spend before being sacked.
Ruud van Nistelrooy wasn’t provided with significant reinforcements and must now try to save Leicester from demotion back to the Championship.
Project Reset's Leicester concerns
- The absence of trust — a lack of transparency and communication from the club to the fans
- Fear of conflict — a reluctance to make quick and impactful decisions since the death of Khun Vichai
- A lack of commitment — ‘a loss of any long-standing semblance of a footballing identity’
- Avoidance of accountability — that the same decision-makers remain in place after the 2023 relegation and that Rudkin’s vision for the football operation has not been communicated to the supporters
- Inattention to results — that the club is on a spiralling trend that the hierarchy have not taken action to address, leaving many fans resigned to what they feel is an inevitable relegation unless immediate action is taken.
Beyond that, there are massive concerns over trust, with the board seen to be operating in secret.
With a lack of communication, supporters feel as if they’ve become profit centres.
The members of Project Reset believe that the club has lacked a clear identity regarding managers and their styles.
For example, Dean Smith, Enzo Maresca and Cooper are all very different to each other.
This also applies to transfers and explains why Rudkin is the target of so much anger.
This isn’t a protest aimed at those on the pitch, it is totally at the board.
It has nothing to do with Van Nistelrooy, and the fans will be backing the players all they can on Saturday.
But it is clear that some feel the constant mistakes at the club have gone on long enough.
This protest has the support of talkSPORT’s Chief Football Reporter, Alex Crook, although he feels the way fans have treated managers in recent years has been harsh.
Speaking on White and Jordan, he said: “I understand why Jon Rudkin is getting the flak.
“I wasn’t happy when the fans turned on Ruud van Nistelrooy because they’ve got history of not being happy with their manager – they weren’t happy with Brendan Rodgers, bearing in mind he won an FA Cup.
“They weren’t happy with Enzo Maresca even though they stormed the Championship last season, and they didn’t want Steve Cooper in the first place.
“But the problems at Leicester go deeper than the man in the dugout. I know King Power suffered more than a lot of companies during COVID.
“They have made bad decisions. They still have the same defence from the last time they were in the Premier League, and they weren’t good enough back then.
“So Jon Rudkin does have to shoulder a lot of the responsibility, and he should be the target of the fans’ anger.”
Foxes boss Van Nistelrooy has also been speaking about the protest.
At his pre-match press conference, he said: “Thank God we live in a world where there is freedom of speech, and everybody who feels they should have their voice heard in a good way is free to do that.
“We have to all be happy that we can do that.
“Also, looking back as a player, when there is a connection with your home crowd, the support can lift you.
“I can only hope the supporters will be behind the players.”
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