Leicester hosted Southampton on Saturday in the Premier League but the referee had to be replaced midway through the first-half, with Jamie Vardy at the centre of attention
Referee David Webb had to be replaced 25 minutes into Leicester’s clash with Southampton after going down injured. With Webb stricken on the ground, Foxes legend Jamie Vardy went over to him, before lifting his arm and blowing the whistle.
Webb went down aafter catching the shoulder of Jordan Ayew with his face. The game carried on despite Webb being on the ground, with play only stopping once Vardy had blown the whistle.
After treatment the referee did get back up to his feet, but it was decided he would be unable to continue. Fourth official Samuel Barrott stepped up, with the game resuming after a 12-minute delay
Webb had been making his Premier League debut, with the official having undergone a concussion test and then put under further observation. Vardy meanwhile had opened the scoring 10 minutes before Webb’s injury.
Bilal El Khannouss linked up well with Luke Thomas on the left wing, with the ball then fed in to Vardy in the box. The veteran striker swept it high into the net to register his 199th goal in Leicester colours.
That was Leicester’s first goal in the league at home since 8 December and led to jubilant chants of “We scored a goal” from the Foxes fans. The supporters later poked fun at the Premier League during the stoppage for Webb’s injury.
An announcement came over the tannoy that officials hoped to restart the game shortly. That was met by chants of: “Premier League, you’re having a laugh.”
Having felled Webb, Ayew then doubled Leicester’s lead on the stroke of half-time with his first goal since Boxing Day. His awful free-kick went low into the wall but the rebound fell nicely to him and he hammered it beyond Aaron Ramsdale into the bottom corner.
Both Leicester and Southampton have of course already been relegated. These are also the final four games of Vardy’s Leicester career, with the Englishman leaving the King Power at the end of the season.
In a video message posted on Instagram, Vardy said: “Gutted that this day has come but I knew it was going to come eventually. I’ve had 13 unbelievable years at this club with lots of success, some down but the majority all highs. It’s finally time to call it a day which I am devastated about.
“But I think the timing is right, just wanna sincerely thank you all for taking me in as one of your own. Leicester will always have a massive place in my heart and I’ll make sure that I’ll be following for years to come in what I hope will be even more success for the club. But as for now, this is my goodbye but you will see me again, I promise.”
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