Leyton Orient players unhappy after club owner forces team to live in a hotel

Leyton Orient players are said to be unhappy at being forced to live in a hotel by club owner Francesco Becchetti.

After Orient were beaten 3-1 at Hartlepool last weekend, Becchetti despatched boss Ian Hendon and his squad and staff to the £100-a-night Marriott Hotel in Waltham Abbey, Essex, where they have been staying ever since.

Hendon backed the decision publicly but Standard Sport understands a number of the squad are less than pleased they cannot spend evenings at their own homes, even though they are allowed to leave the hotel for set periods to visit friends and family.

The practice is relatively common in Italian football and even has a name – the ‘ritiro’. Playing staff often have to stay at the training ground for the week after a poor result on the orders of the club president.

Yet it is virtually unprecedented in English football, especially in the lower divisions. Even more bizarrely, the hotel is a very short distance from Orient’s training ground and their stadium. Orient face York at the weekend after winning only one of their last 12 League Two games.

Becchetti could be extradited to Albania after being arrested by the Metropolitan Police on charges of fraud and money-laundering. The 49-year-old Italian denies the allegations.