"Relegation is my responsibility": Even the chairman bowed low... Leicester, the EPL champion, plummeted to the third division; "Points deduction was decisive"

*This content was translated by AI.

Just 10 years ago, Leicester City, which achieved the "miracle of winning" in the English Premier League (EPL), has finally been relegated to the third division (League One).

On the 22nd (Korean time), Leicester drew 2-2 with Hull City in the 44th round of the 2025-2026 Championship (second division) home match held at King Power Stadium in Leicester, England.

Leicester, which desperately needed a victory, finished 23rd with 42 points. The gap to Blackburn Rovers, who sit 21st on the relegation survival line with 49 points, widened to seven points. Regardless of the results of the remaining two matches, Leicester will face the relegation blow reserved for teams finishing 22nd to 24th in the league.

The primary cause of the relegation is the "points deduction" penalty. Leicester was deducted six points in February for violating club financial regulations, which sent them plummeting into the relegation zone. Although they appealed earlier this month to overturn the ruling, the appeal was rejected, and ultimately, this penalty became the stumbling block for their relegation.

Fans watching Leicester's fall can only feel sorrow. After winning the 2013-2014 Championship and earning promotion to the top flight, Leicester survived the 2014-2015 EPL season in 14th place. Then, in the 2015-2016 season, they wrote a dreamlike fairy tale by securing their first-ever EPL title in the club's 132-year history.

At the start of that season, bookmakers had set the odds for their championship at just 0.02% (1 in 5,000). However, under the guidance of manager Claudio Ranieri, they achieved an astonishing record of 23 wins, 12 draws, and 3 losses over 38 rounds (81 points), finishing 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal (71 points).

Leicester's strength continued in the years that followed. They reached the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-finals in the 2016-2017 season, won the English Football Association (FA) Cup in the 2020-2021 season, and reached the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) semi-finals in the 2021-2022 season.

However, recent performances have shifted from a "dreamlike fairy tale" to a "tragic narrative." After finishing 18th in the EPL last season and being relegated to the Championship, Leicester City has now suffered the humiliation of falling all the way to the third division.

Relegation to lower divisions causes a massive financial blow to clubs due to reduced broadcasting rights revenue, so Leicester is expected to face a difficult and thorny path before they can rise again.

Immediately after the relegation, Chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha issued a formal statement, bowing his head to fans. He said, "I bear full responsibility for the relegation and have no excuses," adding, "Our goal is clear: we will make the necessary decisions to stand up again and restore the standards befitting Leicester, moving the club forward once more." He reaffirmed his strong will for reconstruction.

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*This content was translated by AI.