Harry The Hornet is back at it again.
The Watford mascot was at the centre of an incident in 2016, mocking Crystal Palace forward Wilfired Zaha after the player was booked for simulation. After the conclusion of the game, Harry appeared to attempt to antagonise Zaha by diving to the ground.
Then Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce labelled the incident as "out of order", while current boss Roy Hodgson spoke about it during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
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.
And certainly if it’s provoking the crowd into looking for something that’s not there, it should be stopped.
I would be very disappointed if the Crystal 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.
Harry the Hornet clearly payed little attention to these words, recreating his famous dive after Watford defeated Hodgson's side this afternoon.
Harry The Hornet recreating his dive two years ago Hahahahaha this man is a legend. Have some of that Roy. #MyMascot pic.twitter.com/8feArhZa2L
— Seán Walker (@SeanWalkerSport) August 26, 2018
While Zaha recited angrily to the gesture last time around, the player was not goaded as directly on this occasion.
The Ivorian was the subject of ridicule throughout from the Watford fans, and was once again the butt of the jokes at the conclusion of this game.
The game at Vicerage Road was at times an ill-tempered affair, with a number of tough tackles being dished out by both sides.
Zaha himself was on the end of a nasty challenge from Étienne Capoue, with the French midfielder lucky to remain on the pitch.
Disgusting challenge from Capoue. That’s a clear red card! 😡🦅 #CPFC pic.twitter.com/gIyfBV621f
— Crystal Palace 🦅 (@CpfcNews_) August 26, 2018
Zaha would get on the scoresheet late in the game, but it was not enough as goals from Roberto Pereyra and José Holebas secured the three points for the home side.
