Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is concerned that the 'racist' tag that has been placed on him will never go away.

Vardy was involved in a real controversy at the start of last season after the striker was caught on video verbally abusing a man at a casino and derogatorily calling him 'Jap'.

Vardy faced a public backlash following the incident and now the Leicester star has stated that he fears the word 'racist' will be associated with him forever.

In an extract from his autobiography - Jamie Vardy: From Nowhere, My Story - which is being serialised by The Sun, Vardy recalled: “Most convictions get wiped after a period of time. But there's no way of erasing what happened in July 2015.

“The word 'racist' is a permanent stain against my name. It's worse than a criminal record.

“Some people will never forgive me.

“Others will accept I made a terrible mistake and recognise I have learnt from it.

“It's on YouTube when my kids type in their dad's name and it comes up 'Jamie Vardy racist'. On Google, too.

“It's horrible."

He adds: “I like a drink and enjoy being Jack the Lad. I've had a few scraps and spent a night in a cell. I can be a pain in the a***. But one thing I'm not, and never will be, is a racist.

“I looked in the eyes of the student I verbally abused and told him that. I needed him to see how sorry I was. I wanted him to know there was ignorance, not malice or prejudice, behind the word I used.

“I was angry at the time and I'd had too much to drink but I'd never have used the word 'Jap' if I'd known it was racist."