Mascot wars

Those lovable oversized walking stuffed animals have been at it again in Oldham and this time it looks like landing them in court. When Oldham hosted Blackpool in a recent FA Cup tie the two opposing mascots, namely Chaddy the Owl for the Latics and Bloomfield Bear for the Tangerines, ended up being escorted away in opposite directions by the Oldham stewards.

The incident happened at half-time when what started out as some playful acting ended up in a scuffle and an early bath for both parties. Chaddy explains his version of events:

“The guy in the Bear suit isn't usually their mascot and he's not the first to try and draw attention to himself. I'm always nice to visitors but the Bear started getting a bit lively. Every time I went for a handshake he was shoving or aggressively trying to push me to the ground and we had a bit of a tussle. It was all handbags stuff really but I decided to get my revenge when he removed his boot to take a penalty - I threw it to the fans in the Chaddy End.”

However the giant-size 40 shoe was never returned and Chaddy was escorted from the pitch by stewards while the Bear departed with unsympathetic chants ringing in his ears: “One shoe - you've only got one shoe...”