Harry the Hornet was out of order says Sam Allardyce over Wilfried Zaha dive taunt
Crystal Palace boss urges punishment after Zaha reacted in fury to taunting from Harry the Hornet
SAM ALLARDYCE wants Watford to be charged with failing to control their mascot after Wilfried Zaha was involved in a bizarre bust-up with Harry the Hornet.
Furous Zaha had to be hauled away by members of the Crystal Palace coaching staff at the final whistle after the Watford employee dressed in a giant hornet costume mocked him for diving.
Zaha was still angry at his 87th minute booking for simulation when the mascot ran in front of him and theatrically threw himself to the ground after the 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road.
Keep up to date with ALL the Crystal Palace news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
And new boss Allardyce was far from impressed by the provocation.
“The mascot is out of order because it could have produced the wrong reaction,” Allardyce said.
“It’s up to Watford to sort it out but the FA and Premier League can look at that and do what they want to do about it.”
Allardyce, who is still the subject of his own FA investigation into his September sacking as England boss, added: “I’m disappointed that we haven’t won when you consider that Watford’s goal came from their first shot on target from the spot.
“We missed a penalty to make it 2-0 and then gave a silly one away so we’ve thrown two points away.
“I don’t really enjoy games as a manager but it’s great to be back in the top league in the world and I’ve seen a lot to be encouraged about today.
“But no manager can be satisfied with his squad when there’s a transfer window coming up and I’ll have to see who is available and hope that nobody comes in for any of my players.
“We’ve got some exceptionally talented and experienced players in this squad and they know they shouldn’t be in this position.
“They were nervous because of the position we are in near the bottom of the League but it still took Watford 70 minutes to have a shot on target.
“We were pretty resilient today but we’ve only kept one clean sheet all season so mt priority is obviously to sort the defence out.
“We’re a team that creates chances so now I need to make sure we turn these performances into three points.
“I’ve been able to do that in the past and hopefully I can continue to do for Palace where I left off at Sunderland.”
