Roy Hodgson has bizarre beef with Watford mascot Harry the Hornet
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Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson hasn't taken kindly to Watford mascot Harry the Hornet mocking Wilfried Zaha for diving during their meeting two seasons ago.
Zaha's alleged diving was all the buzz for a while, having picked up more bookings for simulation than any other player in the Premier League since the start of the 2015 season.
The 25-year-old then had to be hauled away by Palace's coaching staff at the final whistle after Watford mascot Harry the Hornet threw himself to the ground, behind Zaha, mocking the forward over diving allegations.
Ahead of Palace's trip to Watford on Sunday, Hodgson has warned Harry the Hornet not to repeat his previous taunts of his star player Zaha.
Zaha's alleged diving was all the buzz for a while, having picked up more bookings for simulation than any other player in the Premier League since the start of the 2015 season.
And the attention peaked in December 2016 at Vicarage Road when the former Manchester United man was furious to be booked for simulation near the end of a 1-1 draw.
The 25-year-old then had to be hauled away by Palace's coaching staff at the final whistle after Watford mascot Harry the Hornet threw himself to the ground, behind Zaha, mocking the forward over diving allegations.
Ahead of Palace's trip to Watford on Sunday, Hodgson has warned Harry the Hornet not to repeat his previous taunts of his star player Zaha.
If you're asking me whether Harry the Hornet, who I presume is the mascot, should dive in that way, I think it's disgraceful, because that's not what football matches are about.
If it's provoking the crowd into looking for something that is not there then it should be stopped.
Wilf Zaha does not dive for penalties. He gets knocked over sometimes - sometimes he gets knocked over or unbalanced without it being a penalty or a foul - because he runs at such speed and has such agility with the ball. But he certainly doesn't dive.
But of course teams try to take every advantage they can. I would be very disappointed if the Palace mascot was doing something like that to provoke the crowd against an opponent. And if I found out about it, I would stop it.
