The man behind Watford’s controversial Harry the Hornet mascot has stood down
The Watford mascot was most famous for diving in front of Wilfried Zaha after a game in 2016.
The man who has entertained Watford fans in a giant hornet outfit for a decade has stepped away from his duties.
Gareth Evans, who has been performing as Harry the Hornet since 2008, tweeted his decision ahead of Watford’s game against Manchester United on Saturday.
In the tweet, Evans mentioned that it was his own decision, and that he was: “Proud of what I have achieved, the memories made and the experiences I’ve had.”
But not all of those experiences have been to everyone’s taste.
On Boxing Day 2016, after a 1-1 draw between Watford and Crystal Palace, Harry the Hornet dived on the pitch in a move that hyped up diving claims around Palace forward Zaha, who sent Evans this tweet the next day.
“The mascot is out of order, isn’t he? If someone is diving, they don’t get that angry,” then-manager Sam Allardyce said after the game. “There’s contact. It wasn’t given.”
Current manager Roy Hodgson also spoke on the incident ahead of a game between the two sides earlier this season, insisting he would never let a Palace mascot do anything like that, and also claiming that Zaha does not dive.
Watford fans took to Twitter to let Evans know he would be missed with his dance routines and drumming during games regularly keeping fans at Vicarage Road in high spirits.
And while some fans pointed out that Evans’ successor would have big shoes to fill, both figuratively and literally, the man himself tweeted: “Designed a new pair, they’ll have them to wear…. they’ll look mint.”
