Football: Watford's Harry the Hornet escapes a red card for EPL dive

Naughty mascot Harry the Hornet has been given an amusing dressing down by his Watford bosses after mocking an opposition EPL player.

And the spat has included a tweeting duel between the mascot and Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.

Harry riled Palace including their new manager Sam Allardyce after making a comedic dive in front of Wilfried Zaha following the Boxing Day football clash at Watford's ground.

Zaha, who had been booked for diving in the game, looked both angry and bemused. He began to approach Harry before being restrained by Palace personnel.

In a major mood swing, Zaha was able to laugh about it the next day, and tweeted a picture of a judging panel at a diving competition, giving Harry a score of 8, the Daily Mail reported. Harry responded in kind.

🐝👍🏾 @1HHornet pic.twitter.com/H9ATqYZaTv

— Wilfried Zaha (@wilfriedzaha) December 27, 2016

The FA have decided not to pursue the case further but Watford said it has "reminded Harry the Hornet of his responsibilities, which include continuing to have fun and entertain supporters."

Harry - his actual name is Gareth Evans - has form and fame. He joined in a Watford goal celebration on a previous occasion, and mocked Newcastle's poor finishing on another.

Retired referee Dermot Gallagher put things into perspective, saying: "Zaha will argue that he is trying to incite him, but it is good that his colleagues have laughed it off. It is Christmas isn't it? A time of fun, and maybe it is time to just calm down."

Watford fans are seeing the funny side. One tweeted: "My main worry for the transfer window is that a bigger club might come in with a ridiculous offer for (Harry)."

Another followed that up with "Yes, please don't go to China" in reference to the huge money being offered to EPL players by Chinese clubs.