The wife and son of Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, have laid a wreath inside the stadium to pay tribute to the late billionaire.
The Thai businessman’s Son Aiyawatt, who is also the vice chair of the club, and wife Aimon laid a wreath in the centre of the pitch surrounded by the team and fans.
They were joined by players including Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel and Harry Maguire, as well as manager Claude Puel.
Puel joined his players and the vice chairman toured the stadium viewing the tributes left since the weekend.
Around 200 fans were at the ground when the players emerged and broke into spontaneous applause as the squad looked at the sea of flowers.
The team then stood at the back of the shrine and looked out on the hundreds of flowers, cards and messages laid on the floor.
Some had arms around each other’s shoulders and some bowed their heads to pay their respects.
Since the crash many players have been paying tribute to the owner, Schmeichel, praised the “dedicated and passionate” businessman, who bought the club for £39 million in 2010 and led it to a first Premier League title in 2016.
Schmeichel said: “It is difficult to put into words how much you have meant to this football club and to the city of Leicester.
“You literally made my dreams come true.”
Vardy said he was “struggling to find the right words” but added: “to me you are legend, an incredible man who had the biggest heart, the soul of Leicester City Football Club.”
All five of the people on board the helicopter died in the crash which happened on Saturday night after Leicester drew 1-1 against West Ham.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said they had recovered the helicopters black box and were now investigating.
They said: “We recovered the digital flight data recorder (voice and data) on Sunday afternoon and one of our inspectors travelled back to Farnborough with the recorder the same evening.
“Today, our inspectors in Farnborough will start working on the recorder, which was subject to intense heat as a result of the post-accident fire.
“Our inspectors are continuing to work with the police on site. We expect to be here until the end of the week, at which point we will transport the wreckage to our specialist facilities in Farnborough for more detailed examination.”
Tributes have been coming from around the world with Prince William – who is president of the Football Association and a keen football fan – saying he was “lucky” to have known Srivaddhanaprabha.
