Following David Webb’s injury midway through the first half of Saturday’s Premier League match between Southampton and Leicester City, Jamie Vardy has now disclosed the true reason he blew Webb’s whistle. Although a lot of football fans believe this is just another one of Vardy’s wind-ups, the real reason is far more cunning.
In his first Premier League match as a referee, Webb caught Jordan Ayew’s shoulder and went down clutching his face. The game went on, with the referee in too much pain to stop it until Vardy, apparently in jest, blew the injured referee’s whistle.
Webb’s debut was cut short because he was too injured to continue, and after a 12-minute wait, fourth official Sam Barrott took his place. View the incident below:
On our ranking of the Premier League’s biggest wind-up merchants, Vardy is only surpassed by Jose Mourinho. It appeared that this was Vardy’s last moment of elite “housery” before his incredible Leicester City tenure came to an end. Despite his desire to stay in the Premier League, the former England international has stated that he will be leaving demoted Leicester this summer.
Vardy Explains Why He Blew Referee’s Whistle
There was a clever reason behind his thinking
On Match of the Day, another Foxes legend, Gary Lineker, questioned Vardy, who is considered by many to be the best player in Leicester’s history, about the incident. He gave an explanation of his motivations for raising Webb’s red flag on the renowned BBC show.
“Did you give us a preview of your future? Lineker asked Vardy, “I saw you blowing the referee’s whistle.” “No, to be honest with you, I saw Southampton breaking down the left,” the livewire striker retorted. I thought I would blow the referee’s whistle to end the game because he was down. clever reasoning. See below for Vardy’s explanation:
Vardy and Ayew’s goals in the first half helped Leicester defeat Southampton, who are currently sitting at the bottom of the Premier League standings with 11 points and three games left. With Saturday’s victory, Leicester has now gained 21 points this season, just their fifth victory in an incredibly poor 2024–25 campaign.
Relegation Zone in the Premier League (as of May 4)
Place
Club
Pld.
Points
GD
18. (R)
Town of Ipswich
35
22
-41
19. (R)
City of Leicester
35
21
-47
20. (R)
Southampton
35
11.
-57
The team’s supporters will use the occasion to thank Vardy for his 13 years of exceptional service, while manager Ruud van Nistelrooy and his players hope to salvage some pride between now and the rest of the season.
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