Not all Leicester supporters who swarmed Bangkok streets to celebrate the football club's victory last week were adoring fans as many of them were paid to join the parade, according to a UK newspaper.
The Sun Online reported on Sunday "thousands" of Thais were hired to cheer the team during the club's Premier League victory parade in Bangkok on Thursday.
It quoted sources who claimed many of the adoring fans on that day were actually responding to a social media advertisement offering to pay 500 baht for the job.
- Gallery: Leicester City parade in Bangkok
The Sun reported many of these people were employees of The King Power International Group, the duty empire owned by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who bought the club from Milan Mandaric for £39m in 2010.
They were instructed to show up at King Power's head office where the parade started and to chant and cheer as the procession moved on Bangkok streets. In addition to cash, they received club T-shirts.
Mr Vichai, who was in the UK, was not available for comment on Tuesday.
In a statement to the Bangkok Post on the same day, a King Power spokesperson denied The Sun report it was paying fake fans to join the parade.
"It's true we allowed King Power employees whose shifts ended — numbering 500 for each shift — to join the parade but only if they wanted to," the statement said.
"Since they already had Leicester T-shirts, it was only natural that they wore them on the occasion. It's the same in Leicester where 240,000 residents wore the club T-shirt during the celebration," it said.
As for cheerleaders, the organiser did hire a few just for fun, the statement said.