REVEALED: Three Burnley players backed Erling Haaland to score against them by choosing him as their Fantasy Premier League captain, sparking new fears about footballers playing FPL

REVEALED: Three Burnley players backed Erling Haaland to score against them by choosing him as their Fantasy Premier League captain, sparking new fears about footballers playing FPL

Three Burnley players captained Erling Haaland in their Fantasy Premier League sides before he scored twice against them, as revealed by a leak.

Josh Brownhill, Jack Cork and Arijanet Muric are the three players who captained the Norwegian goalkeeper – and earned points in the pretend play as he looted their defence.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper James Trafford Haaland chose not to join his team and opted to support himself, making him vice-captain – a bold move that ultimately saw him lose out in the digital game.

Trafford started the game following his £19 million move from City, while Brownhill came off the bench after Haaland was substituted. Cork and Muric did not appear.

The issue will raise new concerns about how stars could be influenced by their own FPL teams. Players and staff of Premier League clubs have been warned in the past about potential leaks when playing Fantasy Premier League.

Aston Villa banned their players from playing the game in 2021 as multiple individuals removed Jack Grealish from their teams as he was rumored to be injured.

Three Burnley players captained Erling Haaland ahead of their encounter with Man City on Friday

Josh Brownhill captained Haaland on his team

His team consisted of Haaland up front with Claret's teammates Connor Roberts and Jordan Beyer as substitutes

Josh Brownhill was one of the Burnley players to captain Erling Haaland against his own team

Dean Smith was furious when he discovered news of the midfielder’s injury had spread following a 2-1 defeat to Leicester and vowed to investigate.

Automated software has been used to scan for changes in players’ or club staff’s teams, leading to increased concerns about team leaks. Sky Sports news discovered that several clubs had told people not to select players from their own club.

A list of teams created by verified Premier League players was released last week by fplbot and they are free to view.

As expected, Haaland turned out to be a solid pick, scoring 26 points for the 5.7 million people who gave him the bracelet.

MailOnline has contacted the Premier League for comment.

Goalkeeper Arijanet Muric must have thought Burnley would relent as Haaland captain

He paired Haaland at the top with Burnley's new frontman Zeki Amdouni

Goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, who did not play, must have thought Burnley would concede as Haaland captain

Jack Cork also relied on the Norwegian goal machine, who scored 26 points as captain

Although he captained Haaland, he chose no Burnley players in his 15-man squad

Jack Cork, who did not feature against City, also put his faith in Norway’s goalscoring machine, who scored 26 points as captain

More than 5.7 million players captained Haaland, but James Trafford completely left him out

More than 5.7 million players captained Haaland, but James Trafford completely left him out

IT ALL GOES OFF!

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport promising a different take on Premier League football, launching today and every week this season with a preview show.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music And Spotify

(TagsToTranslate)dailymail