Gary Lineker heads out to Italian capital to cheer on Leicester in their clash with Roma

‘All flights lead to Rome!’: Gary Lineker and his three sons fly in for Leicester’s Europa Conference League semi-final, after he quit his Champions League presenting gig to watch his boyhood team play in Europe

  • Leicester travel to Rome for the second leg of the Europa Conference League tie
  • The first leg at the King Power Stadium last week ended in a 1-1 draw
  • Leicester have an allocation of 5,000 tickets for the return in the Italian capital
  • They’ll be supported in Stadio Olimpico by Gary Lineker and three of his sons 

Gary Lineker has jetted out to Rome with three of his sons to cheer on Leicester in their crunch Europa Conference League semi-final second leg with Jose Mourinho’s Roma.

The tie is delicately poised after the first leg at the King Power Stadium last week ended in a 1-1 draw.

Victory over Mourinho’s Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday will send Leicester through to the final in Tirana, Albania on May 25.

Gary Lineker tweeted a picture of him and his three sons – Angus, 24, Harry, 28, and Tobias, 26 – on the plane to Rome on Thursday

Lineker quit his role at BT Sport last year to follow Leicester on their European journey

Lineker quit his role at BT Sport last year to follow Leicester on their European journey

Around 5,000 Leicester fans are expected to brave the hostile atmosphere by making the trip to the Italian capital for the match, including Lineker and three of his sons – Angus, 24, Harry, 28, and Tobias, 26.

Lineker tweeted a picture of the four of them on the plane on Thursday morning, with the caption: ‘All flights lead to Rome.’ 

Rio Ferdinand was among those to reply to Lineker’s Tweet. ‘Love it… have a good one chaps,’ the former Manchester United and England defender wrote. 

Lineker social media's statement last year claimed he rejected a renewal offer from BT

Lineker social media’s statement last year claimed he rejected a renewal offer from BT

Lineker left his role as BT Sport’s main presenter for its Champions League coverage after last year’s final between Chelsea and Manchester City in Lisbon.

The 61-year-old former England and Tottenham striker rejected a new deal with the broadcaster to spend more time with his family, including plans to follow boyhood club Leicester around Europe after they qualified for the Europa League.

Lineker has been spotted at other European matches this season, including the home clashes with Napoli in the Europa League and Rennes in the Conference League. 

The tie between Leicester and Roma is evenly poised after the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw

Leicester dropped out of the Europa League and into the inaugural Conference League after failing to qualify from a group including Napoli, Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw.

The Foxes’ third-place finish in the group saw them enter the Europa Conference League – a competition that Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers even admitted in December that he did not know what it was.

The semi-final line-up shows that this is more than a simple consolation prize, however.

Feyenoord and Marseille, in the other tie, are giants of Holland and France respectively, while Thursday night’s expected crowd of 72,000 in Rome shows how seriously the locals are taking it. 

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