Karl Power is a prankster from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, 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. Their objective is usually to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but also often for purposes ...

. He appeared in the

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

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

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

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 Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

'', 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 was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

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

Black Grape Black Grape are an English rock band, featuring former members of Happy Mondays and Ruthless Rap Assassins. Their musical style fuses funk and electronic rock with electronic programming and samples. History Formation, first two albums an ...

, is a tribute to him. He also appeared in

Puressence Puressence was a British rock band from Failsworth, Greater Manchester, England, formed in May 1992. Band membership The band, at their break-up, consisted of: *James Mudriczki: Vocals *Lowell Killen: Guitar *Kevin Matthews: Bass guitar *Tony ...

's pop video, "Walking Dead", with Happy Mondays dancer Bez.

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 Briti ...

. 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 cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...

played against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 Headingle ...

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 for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...

to the winners' podium at the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World C ...

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 Championships at Wimbledon, the third annual Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar. It is con ...

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 * ...

and play a short game before a

Tim Henman Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis. He was the first British man to reach the singles semifinals of Wimbledon since Roger Taylor in the ...

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 city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

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

Diego Forlán Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi T ...

against Liverpool at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

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 Impostors