Andy Townsend confronted by Real Madrid fans

ITV football pundit Andy Townsend has revealed how he was threatened by Real Madrid fans after being mistaken for Champions League referee Wolfgang Stark.

Townsend said that he feared being attacked while having a meal in a Madrid restaurant with anchor Adrian Chiles and ITV bosses following Real's loss to Barcelona on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the former footballer said that he soon realised the fans had mistaken him for Stark, who made a number of controversial decisions during the game.

"I went into a restaurant and was eating when I noticed people looking at me. 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," said Townsend.

"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!"

He added: "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."

Chiles saw the lighter side of the incident, but Townsend blamed Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho for whipping the fans up into "a frenzy".

"Adrian's started calling me Wolfie, but actually there's a sinister edge to it. The crowd were baying for the referee's blood. They totally saw the referee as the villain of the piece. That's how Mourinho whips up a frenzy," he said.

"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."

Last week, it emerged that Townsend was being lined up by BBC bosses to join BBC Breakfast as a replacement for the outgoing Chris Hollins.

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