Leicester City fever "hit Thailand on Wednesday as the newly crowned Premier League champions arrived in the home country" of club Owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha for a flying visit, according to Paul Murphy of ESPN. The "Siamese Foxes" touched down at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 6am "and were welcomed by fans and a huge media presence." Manager Claudio Ranieri and his players were presented with garlands "before being whisked off to their hotel in downtown Bangkok." Some big-name players did not make the trip, including striker Jamie Vardy and midfielders N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez. Vardy (England) and Kante (France) are preparing for Euro 2016 while Mahrez "has been given leave." Leicester City bunting "had been hung outside the King Power complex, the base of the club sponsors and the venue for the recent screenings of Leicester games for increasing numbers of fans." It was there that the club "presented the Premier League trophy to the assembled media" (ESPN, 5/18). In London, Mark Critchley reported Leicester City arrived in Bangkok despite the team's last visit "ending in disgrace." Leicester’s support base in the country "has grown all season long." Last year, however, three of the club’s youth team players "were sacked after allegedly racially abusing women while filming a sex act." Leicester Vice-Chair Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the son of owner Vichai, "warned the players that there must be no repeat" of such behavior on this trip. He said, "The players need privacy as well but I’ve talked to them and they know they need to treat everything well" (INDEPENDENT, 5/18).
