We Bet Howard Webb’s Tocayo Is One Angry Man

Living in today’s world with a name like Pablo Escobar, Charles Manson or Ralph Nader is like having the word puto tattooed on your forehead. Just ask 62 year old Englishman, Howard Webb. He’s an engineer living in Rotherman, and he’s been receiving numerous death threats for no relevant reason. Except for the fact that he shares the same name with one notorious Euro 2008 referee who awarded a dubious penalty against Poland last week.

Within hours, someone had tracked down a phone listing for ‘Howard Webb’ in Rotherham and the hate campaign began – only it was directed at the wrong Mr Webb.
The increasingly bemused engineer received several calls partly in Polish, partly in English but all threatening.
When he went to work, he discovered the campaign had spread and his work email account, at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, was so inundated with vitriol it had to be closed.
Images of a mutilated referee began to appear on the internet: one with a knife in his head, one with a sniper rifle’s crosshairs on his face; another suggesting a reward for him “dead or alive”

Well it is European soccer. Isn’t this sort of behavior protocol for fans these days? Yes, but it’s a good thing government officials are sedating the fire.

Poland’s politicians fanned the flames. The Minister of Sport described the referee as a “liar” a “cheat” while Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “Yesterday, I wanted to kill.”

There’s nothing like professional liars and cheats politicans declaring war on a man who doesn’t have replays to check his calls.
Police protect ‘wrong’ man as fans start hate campaign over Howard Webb penalty [Telegraph]
Image [Times]