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Manchester City fan 'Martin from Wakefield' mistakenly named as new Huddersfield manager live on TV

Sky Sports fooled by Martin Warhurst’s resemblance to German coach Jan Siewert

Tim Wyatt
Monday 21 January 2019 14:15 GMT
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Sky Sports mistake fan for Huddersfield's new manager

A lifelong Manchester City fan was mistakenly introduced to the world as Huddersfield Town’s next manager live on TV.

Martin Warhurst was accidentally identified by Sky Sports as Jan Siewert, a German coach who has been heavily linked with the vacant manager’s job, while watching from the stands at Huddersfield’s stadium.

The City supporter, who actually runs a charity providing hospice care for young people, was only sitting in the director’s box on Sunday to watch his beloved City brush past the beleaguered Terriers in a 3-0 win.

But after the TV cameras had zoomed in on the unsuspecting fan and decided he was Mr Siewert, a reporter from Sky Sports was dispatched to wade through the stands to grab an exclusive interview with him.

Mr Warhurst, who had no idea his face was being beamed around the world, was baffled by the approach.

Jan Siewert (left) and Martin Warhurst, who was mistaken for the German coach live on TV

He said: “It was bizarre. Basically what happened is I was sat in the crowd and suddenly I was aware of a guy coming towards me from the right hand side.

“He said, ‘Are you Jan, the new manager?’ I laughed and said, ‘No, no, that’s not me. I’m Martin from Wakefield.’”

Mr Warhurst, who had never heard of his German doppelganger before, said he feared the reporter was a steward coming to tell him he was in the wrong seat.

“That was all I heard of it and then suddenly everybody’s phones and my phone started going crazy, saying, ‘I’ve just seen you on telly.’

“There was lots of reaction from people in the crowd – just people coming up and having selfies and people patting me on the back and wishing me luck.

“I was on my way back up to the table where we were being hosted and a father and son stopped me and the dad said, ‘This is the new manager.’”

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Mr Warhurst admitted he could see the resemblance between Mr Siewert – who is currently the reserves coach at Borussia Dortmund – and himself, although he insisted he was the “more attractive” of the bearded duo.

When asked what advice he could offer to whoever does take on the Terriers, he said: “My tip, if I were the Huddersfield manager playing against a team like Manchester City, I think if they played a formation of 5-5-5, they might actually stand a chance!”

Huddersfield, who are currently bottom of the league and have gone 10 games without a win, parted company with their manager David Wagner by mutual consent last week.

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