Football: Leicester probe 'race orgy' allegations

LONDON - English Premier League side Leicester City announced Sunday they had launched an internal investigation after a newspaper report that three players, including the son of their manager, were filmed in an orgy with a Thai woman, who was racially abused.

A video obtained by Britain's Sunday Mirror newspaper allegedly shows defender James Pearson, 22, the son of the club's manager Nigel, naked in a hotel room.

It was alleged he was joined by striker Tom Hopper, 21, and goalkeeper Adam Smith, 22, who appear to be shown lying naked in a bed laughing as the video is filmed.

The Sunday Mirror said the players from Leicester, a club now owned by the Thai father and son combination of businessmen Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, allegedly filmed Thai women engaged in explicit sex acts in a hotel room.

The paper said one of the players appeared to call a woman "slit eyes" a racially abusive term when applied to people of Asian origin.

The video was said to have been shot while Leicester were touring Thailand as they celebrated avoiding relegation from the lucrative Premier League.

"We take the conduct of our players at every level extremely seriously and will take appropriate action, if necessary, once the full facts of the situation have been established," said a spokesman for Midlands club Leicester.

"Pending the outcome of an internal investigation, the club will make no further comment," he added.