A pitch invader ran the full length of the pitch and taunts Leicester fans while MK Dons are mocked with a banner in the away end.
The Foxes swept past the League One strugglers to reach quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on their first game since since the World Cup.
Youri Tielemans and Ayoze Perez put the Premier League side into a two goal lead by the break (18′, 29′), before Jamie Vardy added a third on the 50th minute.
Their sharpness proved all too much for the third tier MK Dons to handle, and the travelling Leicester faithful went home happy.
However a lot of the talking points came on the dig made at MK Dons with a banner held up by the Leicester support in the away end.
Union FS, an independent fan group established to help improve the matchday atmospheres, held up the banner which read: “FOREVER A STAIN ON THE ENGLISH GAME”
In one of the most controversial sagas in footballing history, the Football League gave Wimbledon permission to change their name to Milton Keynes Dons FC.
The move infuriated already outraged London-based fans, and came in time for this Thursday’s publication of the fixture lists for the 2004/05 season.
The club officially changed its name “once the formalities regarding the share transfer have been completed and approved by the League.”
Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes in September 2003 but were relegated to what was known then as Nationwide Division Two at the end of the 2003/04 season.
MK Dons started off playing home matches at the National Hockey Stadium, but then moved to a ground which now has a capacity of around 30,500 but on average get less than 10,000.
The decision was criticised by many supporters across the country as US-style “franchising”, whereby top sports teams are regularly bought and sold and move from city to city.
In the summer of 2002, outraged fans formed a breakaway club, AFC Wimbledon, which joined the Combined Counties League and since worked their way up to reach the EFL, and played MK Dons on a number of occasions, leading to some telling offs by the league organisation and fans scrapping with each other.
Franchise FC – FOREVER A STAIN ON THE ENGLISH GAME pic.twitter.com/2Otu7rfa7e
— Union FS (@UFS2013) December 20, 2022
Back to the Tuesday night cup clash and Leicester fans were also surprised to see one supporter from the MK Dons end run onto the pitch just to goad the away support.
The culprit could be seen doing some hand gestures before coming closer to the stand, then a number of steward grabbed hold of him and took him away.
The Pitch Invader😆 #lcfc #leicestercity pic.twitter.com/q3IuTr329x
— The Final Whistle (@TFWhistle_) December 21, 2022
MK Dons’ Bradley Johnson said post-match, as per MKCitizen: “We knew it would be a hard test – the quality Leicester have in their side is top drawer – but we told the players to go out there with nothing to fear and to enjoy it.
“We played some good football. Ultimately we came up against a great side who never gave the ball away once. It was a good test, and I’m proud of them. Now, we’re focusing on the league.
“Everyone in the changing room aspires to play at the top level, and there’s no better way of testing yourself than in games like this. We knew they’d put out a strong side because they’ve not played in a while.
“Hopefully we don’t come up against another team like that in our league!
“Jack [Tucker] felt a bit ill before the game, he wanted to play, but he didn’t feel well. We gave him the chance but he wasn’t feeling well so we took him off.
“We spoke about the changes before the game, resting players ahead of Boxing Day. T [Tennai Watson] was cramping up on Saturday, it was good for Josh [McEachran] to get 60 minutes, and we wanted to come out with no injuries. Hopefully nothing happens between now and Boxing Day.”
Giving his assessment of Leicester’s 3-0 win over MK Dons, Foxes assistant manager Chris Davies credited the players’ professional performance at Stadium MK.
“A very pleasing result first and foremost,” he said, via the club website. “Obviously the objective was to get through to the next round, which we did, but the performance overall was very good. A lot of the things that we were reinforcing to the lads before the game they did and we scored some outstanding goals, so I’m really pleased.
“Complacency is what we have to guard against in these types of games. It’s about never thinking it will be easy but trying to make it look easy and that’s about your attitude and the players were excellent in that respect.
“We played with a humility and a confidence. We looked comfortable, so we’re really pleased. It brings us all back together and gives us a really good feeling and a clean sheet. It gives us some goals.”
Davies continued: “Hopefully tonight will help with the momentum moving into Boxing Day. Of course, it has no specific bearing on that result but it’s the best possible situation to be in.
“We did have half the squad with us in Abu Dhabi and a lot of the things that we’ve been emphasising in our training camp and back at Seagrave were some of the things that happened in the game tonight, in terms of the movements at the top of the pitch, the timing and combinations and the penetration of our play.
“So it was really nice to see those things come out in our game in the build-up to the goals so credit to the players for that. It’s back to our normal processes now. It’s all about the next game, Newcastle. We’ll be looking to recover from this game as well as we can and ultimately prepare and focus for a really big game for us on Boxing Day.”
Here’s how Twitter users reacted as a pitch invader taunts Leicester fans and MK Dons are mocked with a banner in the away end…
@Alex_G3e: Up the real Wimbledon
@David_Major: Fair play, Leicester fans. They’re only saying what we’re all thinking!
@bradz_dl: Leicester + AFC Wimbledon. Massive respect 💙💛
@Wombletom: Things you love to see. Is that the smell of piss being boiled?
@Alex_G3e: Well done Leicester 👊🏼
@NotThatShaz: I wonder if the rattled Dons fans even bothered to show up tonight?
@Mr_Rochdale18: Brilliant 💪⚽️
@PeteJon34768592: Well done Leicester fans, what every true supporter feels about the vile, stolen, property deal franchise 👏👏👏
@20110558a1484fe: Saying what every real fan feels 👌👌👌👌
@Lauren_Sadlerx: Genuine question. Who did they support before 2004?
@gorfmanrob: Things you love to see
@ANT_LCFC: All 4 MK Dons fans seem fuming
@_nb98: I don’t get this at all. Feel so strongly about it yet give them their hard earned money… strange
@LukeThoday: Always liked Leicester
@DanHedges_: cheers for the money lads
@davo261088: Couldn’t agree more and all too often it gets forgotten about. They’ll never be legitimate in my eyes.
@will__sp: I personally wouldn’t have gone at all, but if you are, rubbing some home truths in their faces is the least you can do. #neverforgiveneverforget #mkfranchise
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