Peter Crouch ruthlessly punished and forced to be mascot for non-league football team

Peter Crouch likes a laugh and the football legend brought out a few at non-league Farnham Town on Saturday - when he led out the side as one of their mascots.

The ex-England, Liverpool and Tottenham striker, now 44, is more accustomed to being led out for a match by a youngster. But it was a case of role reversal for the 42-cap star as he was punished for finishing bottom of his fantasy football league.

The punishment was handed down by his co-hosts on the That Peter Crouch Podcast, radio presenter Chris Stark and fellow retired pro Steve Sidwell. Crouchy was treated to the "full mascot matchday experience" by Farnham bosses for their Southern League Premier Division South game against Sholing.

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The 6ft 7in star took part in pre-match player meet and greets, was a part of a half-time show and ate dinner with the other mascots, as well as the biggest part of the gig - walking out with the players ahead of kickoff. He even wore the full Farnham kit to blend in with the rest of the mascots.

Supporters and players, who are used to seeing young kids living their dream of meeting their heroes as matchday mascots, were taken aback when they saw Crouch at the Memorial Ground in Farnham.

And the giant former hitman was put to task by those in attendance, signing shirts and posing for selfies. Crouch, who netted 106 Premier League goals in his career, even managed to squeeze in a group photo with all the other mascots before the match started.

Supporters were thrilled with the stunt, praising Crouch for fully embracing the situation and sharing their views on social media.

"Bloody brilliant," said one commentator. "What a top bloke" said another. "Love this!" added a third.

Sharing details on social media, Crouch showed off his mascot's dinner, which consisted of a Coke Zero, a bag of Haribo and some Maryland cookies.

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