Andy Townsend abused by Real Madrid fans in restaurant after being mistaken for referee Wolfgang Stark
ITV pundit Andy Townsend says he was abused in a Madrid restaurant after Real Madrid's Champions League defeat to Barcelona, as he was mistaken for the referee Wolfgang Stark.
Lookalikes?: Wolfgang Stark (left) who Andy Townsend was mistaken for in a Madrid restaurant Photo: GETTY IMAGES / REX
By Telegraph staff 10:03AM BST 29 Apr 2011
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Townsend was eating with ITV colleague Adrian Chiles when he ran into Madrid fans, angry after seeing their side lose 2-0 to Barcelona and Pepe and Jose Mourinho controversially sent off.
"I went into a restaurant and was eating when I noticed people looking at me," Townsend told the Daily Mail.
"Some of them started taking pictures and then someone came and gave me a pot plant, saying, 'This is for you' with a funny look on his face.
"There were 10 of us around the table thinking, ‘'What is going on here?’ When I stood up I got booed and when I went to the loo I got followed there and back. A waiter escorted me to my seat. I didn’t know why.
"Then people came up to me, talking aggressively in Spanish and there was a man shouting at me from the other side of the restaurant. It was all getting out of control.
"Then it dawned on me. Because I still had my UEFA accreditation around my neck they thought I was the referee. To them I was Wolfgang Stark, so I had to turn around and tell them I was from English television."
Townsend, a former Chelsea and Aston Villa player, blamed Jose Mourinho for stirring up Madrid fans to the point of frenzy. "There’s a sinister edge to it," he said.
"The crowd were baying for the referee’s blood. They totally saw the referee as the villain of the piece.
"As ITV were going off air there was actually a fight going on in front of me in the stadium — two men were exchanging blows. And these were the decent seats.
"I witnessed first-hand the effect Mourinho has on fans. I wouldn’t want to see him back in England."
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