They are making a movie out of Jamie Vardy's story. On the face of it, why wouldn't they? Vardy's rise from non-league obscurity to the top of the Premier League is a story arc straight from Tinseltown (if Hollywood considered the lowest a man can fall is to play in a competition sponsored by Vanarama):
VARDY: Four years ago this weekend, he scored his 31st goal in the Conference for @ftfc, tonight he did this... pic.twitter.com/sOqc9sYUtX
— Fleetwood Town FC (@ftfc) March 26, 2016
A truly inspiring tale of one man's belief in himself, that proves that with a bit of hard work, the universe will bend to your relentless will and allow you fulfill your dreams. That's what they'll tell us.
There is one problem with this real-life fairytale. It doesn't tell the whole truth. Before the season began, Vardy was filmed in a casino racially abusing an Asian man. He was filmed saying "Yo Jap... Yo Jap...Walk On". Having been caught, Vardy then apologised, accepting full responsibility and saying that the incident was a "regrettable error in judgement".
Naturally, the fact that the hero is a racist would take away from the inspiring message of any film. Vardy has recently been trying to re-establish some good relations with the Asian community, and in a move straight out of Father Ted, made an appearance alongside his girlfriend at the British Asian Awards.
BBC presenter Manish Bhasin tweeted a photo alongside Vardy at the awards:
Tonight @vardy7 is having an (Asian) party. At the @TheAsianAwards with @Breasthetics & @Bexxxnic #TheAsianAwards pic.twitter.com/QMqOiF8J3A
— Manish Bhasin (@_manishbhasin) April 8, 2016
Vardy turning up at these awards is a move straight from the Father Ted playbook, as Ted organises a party for the island's Asian Community to establish the fact that he is not, in fact, a racist:
Think we would prefer to watch Father Ted than the Vardy film, to be honest.