Inside the pre-season sex-tape scandal that preceded Leicester City's miracle Premier League title triumph

When the 2014-15 season ended, Pearson thought he'd done enough to extend his stay at the King Power for at least one more year. Much of Leicester's first season back in the Premier League was a struggle, and they were seven points from safety heading into their final nine games, only for the Foxes to win seven of them and beat the drop, ultimately finishing 14th in the table.

Leicester became only the third team to ever avoid relegation after being bottom on Christmas Day, and even secured their Premier League status with one game to spare, getting over the line via a 0-0 draw at Sunderland.

Relief poured out of Pearson after the final whistle, as he told reporters: "When you consider our plight a couple of months ago, to go into the final game with our safety assured is quite an unbelievable achievement. I think the key thing for us even in our darkest moments, there have been a few, the players have continued to support each other and believe in their own ability. That's difficult when people are questioning your integrity. We've developed as the season has gone on. This run has been extraordinary, but we've needed to do it, because a number of sides have picked up form. We've stuck at our job."

Shortly after the final day of the season, Pearson and the Leicester squad jetted off to Thailand for a 'goodwill tour', with the aim of building a stronger relationship with the club's ownership regime, led by late chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, and the local community. But it ended up being a public relations disaster.

On May 31, 2015, Leicester launched an investigation after the Daily Mirror obtained footage of three academy players taking part in sex acts in a Bangkok hotel room, which they had sent to friends back in the UK. The trio involved were identified as striker Tom Hopper, goalkeeper Adam Smith, and Pearson's son James, who was the captain of the development squad.

In a statement, a Leicester spokesman confirmed that the three players had returned to England after attending a "preliminary meeting". They also revealed that Hopper, James Pearson and Smith had apologised for their behaviour, but as more details started coming to light, it became clear that would not suffice.

The Mirror described the video as a "racist orgy", and it quickly did the rounds on social media. James Pearson, Hopper and Smith allegedly filmed three Thai women committing "depraved" sex acts with them, cheering and laughing throughout.

At one stage, the camera was turned on the women as they indulged in sex acts, with one of the men heard using a racial slur towards them. In another clip, Hopper appeared to tell one of the women she was "f*cking minging… an absolute one out of 10". The video eventually ended with Hopper and Pearson high-fiving each other.

The shocking images and racist language prompted widespread condemnation in the British press. Grace Dent of The Independent was particularly scathing, as she wrote: "That isn’t about sex, it’s about power. It is about a lovely end-of-season gift to themselves of a few hours spent treating women like a grubby sub-species. It’s about men degrading women, commenting on their supposed ugliness and using racist words against them... And when the camera pulls towards the footballers, they aren’t embarrassed. No, they’re ecstatic to be filmed."

In the face of a deeply embarrassing debacle, Leicester, who count the Thai tourism board among their commercial partners, had no choice but to respond strongly. On June 17, the club announced they had ripped up the contracts of Pearson Jr, Hooper and Smith.

"The decision follows the conclusion of an internal investigation and disciplinary proceedings, as a consequence of events that took place during the club's end-of-season goodwill tour of Thailand," an official statement read. "Leicester City Football Club is acutely aware of its position, and that of its players, as a representative of the city of Leicester, the Premier League, the Football Association and the club's supporters. It is committed to promoting a positive message of community and family values and equality, and to upholding the standards expected of a club with its history, tradition and aspirations."

Lord Ouseley, chair of anti-racism campaigners Kick It Out, said in response: "Leicester have set the right tone to allow football to assert itself in setting and maintaining the correct standards of conduct to enhance the game's image here and abroad as a source for good. For too long, decision-makers at the top of the game have been reluctant to make responsible and authoritative decisions, as employers, to deal effectively and decisively with incidents of serious misconduct and unprofessional behaviour, as well as applying appropriate sanctions. It is therefore refreshing to see such positive action being taken in 2015 which we hope will set the decision-making pattern for the future."

As an outspoken anti-racism campaigner himself, this was one controversy too far for Nigel Pearson. He was banned and fined by the FA in December 2014 for telling a supporter to “f*ck off and die”, and made headlines for grabbing Crystal Palace's James McArthur by the throat on the touchline two months later, which led to false reports he had been dismissed by Leicester. 

In April, his temper got the better of him again, as he branded a journalist an "ostrich", "stupid" and "daft" in a bizarre press conference exchange after Leicester's 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea. The Foxes were rewarded for sticking by Pearson initially, but the deplorable actions of his son made his position untenable.

Pearson was sacked just days before the Leicester players were due to report for pre-season, with the club putting the decision down to "fundamental differences in perspective". But BBC journalist Pat Murphy later claimed that the then-51-year-old's sudden departure was "definitely not a football issue", with the sex tape leak deemed to be "the final straw in the deteriorating relationship between the owners and Pearson".

Murphy added: "There is no doubt that the image and the reputation of the club in their homeland of Thailand has been damaged by the behaviour of, among others, the manager's son James."

Murphy did, however, also express his belief that Leicester's decision was "very harsh on Pearson in footballing terms" and questioned whether "the sins of the son should be visited on the father".

Leicester legend Gary Lineker also felt Pearson had been hard done by, saying on his BreatheSport blog: "So, after not only getting LCFC promoted but pulling off the most miraculous escape in PL history, Pearson is sacked. Those who run football never cease to amaze with their stupidity." Lineker also called Ranieri an "uninspired choice" to take over the reins, only to perform a major U-turn when Leicester were sat at the Premier League summit at the start of January 2016.

"Ranieri is a bloody genius. An absolutely inspirational manager," the former England striker declared on Twitter. For all of his own redeeming qualities as a coach, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who would say that Pearson ever fell into either of those categories. 

The Thai tour scandal would potentially have hung over his head had he stayed on, too, and thus hampered the team's progress. Ranieri was the right man at the right time for Leicester; it's that simple.

As Thailand's most prominent football pundit, Satit 'Bigjah' Krikul, told AFP: "The hotel incident brought the hero."