Watford mascot Harry the Hornet will not face FA charge for Wilfried Zaha dive

Sam Allardyce suggested the mascot could have action taken against him

Jack Pitt-Brooke
Tuesday 27 December 2016 17:28 GMT
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Watford mascot mocks Wilfried Zaha by diving in front of him

Watford will face no charges over Harry the Hornet's goading of Wilfried Zaha in the aftermath of yesterday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Vicarage Road.

Palace manager Sam Allardyce was furious with Harry the Hornet, saying that the mascot was "out of order" to dive in front of Zaha at the end of the game.

Zaha had failed to win a penalty from referee Mark Clattenberg after going down in the vicinity of Miguel Britos in the final minutes of the game.

After the final whistle, the Watford mascot was walking across the turf when he threw himself to the ground, and if his gesture wasn’t clear enough, he then got up and pointed at Zaha for good measure.

Reports originally suggested that Zaha has reacted angrily to the incident and had to be led away by Palace staff members, but while he wasn’t best pleased with the mascot’s actions, the footage suggests that the story has been blown out of proportion somewhat.

Zaha can be seen to laugh at first while he walks away, before waving off the giant hornet and mouthing a few words, and though he clearly didn’t see the funny side of it, he did not need restraining or change his direction to walk towards the mascot.

Allardyce implied that there may be action taken against Watford because of Harry the Hornet's provocative behaviour.

"The Premier League and FA can look at that," Allardyce said, "and do what they want to do."

Watford mascot Harry The Hornet has been caught up in the Wilfried Zaha diving row

However, The Independent has learned this afternoon that the FA will not charge Watford for Harry the Hornet's behaviour.

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