Karl Power is a prankster from Droylsden,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England, known for appearing uninvited at sporting events as an

impostor An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise, deceiving others by knowingly falsifying one or more aspects of their identity. This is in contrast to someone that honestly belie ...

. He appeared in the

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

team photo before an away UEFA Champions League knockout stage match against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in 2001. After the stunt, there was a nationwide manhunt in the United Kingdom for Power with tabloid newspapers asking their readers to write in and give them information. He was unmasked to BBC Sport by men's magazine '' Front'', which revealed that Power had entered the stadium pretending to be with a TV crew to gain access to the pitch,BBC SPORT , FOOTBALL , The biggest football sting in history
/ref> and simply walked back to the stands again afterwards to watch the game. He is a long-term friend of Manchester band

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up consisted of brothers Shaun Ryder (vocals) and Paul Ryder (bass), Gaz Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry la ...

. The hit single "Fat Neck" by their follow-up band,

Black Grape Black Grape are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1993, featuring former members of Happy Mondays and Ruthless Rap Assassins. Their musical style fuses funk and electronic rock with electronic programming and samples. History Forma ...

, is a tribute to him. He also appeared in Puressence's pop video, "Walking Dead", with Happy Mondays dancer Bez. Power is now manager of a local Manchester band The Backhanders. Power was sentenced to 6 months in jail in April 2012 for £26,000 benefit fraud after an anonymous tipoff.

Manchester United team photos

On 18 April 2001, before Manchester United's Champions League match against Bayern Munich, Power walked onto the pitch in team colours as an impostor, and took up a position next to player

Andy Cole Andrew Alexander Cole (born 15 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. His professional career lasted from 1988 to 2008, and is mostly remembered for his time with Manchester United, who paid a Brit ...

. Although he was noticed by other players, he managed to remain in place for the team photo.

England national cricket team

When the

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

played against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

in 2001, Power walked out to bat with the team. Moments after entering the field, he removed his helmet and was immediately recognised.

British Grand Prix at Silverstone

In 2002, he beat

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

to the winners' podium at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

Wimbledon

Power managed to get onto

Centre Court Centre Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (also known as the All England Club) and is the main court used in the Wimbledon Championships, the third annual Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar. It is consi ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

and play a short game before a

Tim Henman Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) during the early 2000s. Henman won 15 career ATP Tour titl ...

match.

Re-enactment of Diego Forlán goal

On 5 April 2003, Power and several accomplices (hotshot, beanie & bri) invaded the Old Trafford pitch prior to Manchester United's game with

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Dressed in full United kit, Power and company re-enacted a goal scored by

Diego Forlán Diego Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former football player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his ...

against Liverpool at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

earlier that season. This stunt saw Power banned for life by Manchester United.

External links

2002 interview with the Guardian newspaper

Internet Movie Database- "Britain's Favourite Hoaxer" (Channel 4 documentary about Karl Power)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Karl Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Droylsden Hoaxers