It's stuff like this that makes a lazy Saturday that bit more enjoyable. Last weekend, Torquay United hosted Grimsby at Plainmoor and duly went down to a 3-2 defeat. Unsurprisingly, that's not why we're mentioning it. Instead, we're here to tell you a story about Gilbert the Gull.
You see Gilbert is a very angry gull, especially when Torquay have just conceded a third at home to Exeter. And when Gilbert gets angry, he likes to call people cunts and he offers to fight them, even if those people are his own fans.
Speaking in the Torquay Herald Express, the club's chief executive, Andrew Candy said that although such an incident had occurred, it had been dealt with and Gilbert would be free to go about his business.
There was an exchange of views between Gilbert and the fans in the Popside. Gilbert was trying to generate some support and get the fans behind the team but it appears that there was a small altercation with the fans.
There was no malicious intent in what was said but things were said that, in hindsight, should not have been. Gilbert has been spoken to and been told that this should not have happened and that this will not happen in the future.
However, the Metro are reporting that things are not quite as harmonious. It seems the Torquay fans on the end of Gilbert's sharp tongue are quite upset with their mascot.
After Grimsby scored their third, Gilbert came over and said “where’s the drummer?”. We thought he was joking but then he called us “a bunch of cunts”.
After the game he came over and gave the “come on, then” body language towards us. We have the worst mascot in football.
We would tend to disagree. All hail Gilbert the Gull, king of football mascots.
To give him his side of the story, Steve Jegat, the man beneath the costume, accepts that he made an inappropriate comment but denies attempting to start a fight.
