Quacking down on the mascots

Mascots such as these will be banned from the sidelines

The likes of Cyril the Swan, Zampa the Lion, the Deepdale Duck, Wolfie and the Ram may soon be an endangered species.

The cuddly football mascots are facing a precautionary yellow card as the Football League tries to quell concerns over a series of touchline and on-pitch incidents involving the popular creatures.

The furry animals have been involved in ugly sideline punch-ups, they have been accused of inciting violence among rival fans and have even interrupted matches.

And Cyril the Swan's latest moment of madness will have done nothing to help their cause.

'Head-to-head'

Swansea City's zany club mascot sparked controversy when he drop-kicked Zampa the Lion's head into the crowd during Sunday's 0-0 draw with Millwall at the Vetch Field.

It is the latest in a long-line of contentious incidents involving Cyril, who has previously been fined and banned from the touchline.

But the club have insisted that his scrape with Zampa was nothing but good-natured and nothing to get into a flap about.

The club said: "As part of our half-time entertainment, Cyril the Swan participated in a penalty shoot-out, as is the norm, with his Millwall counterpart Zampa the Lion.

Cyril the Swan and Zampa the Lion square up

"This was a good-natured affair, with much light-hearted banter between the mascots.

"This developed into a `head-to-head' match where Zampa attempted to remove Cyril's head, without success, only for Cyril to manage to `relieve' Zampa of his!"

Swansea, however, have objected to the way in which this matter has been reported by sections of the media, with the use of language insinuating that the crowd was enraged.

"In the photograph published, the fans pictured are Millwall supporters, and you will see that nearly everyone has a smile on their face," the club added.

And so the argument for the Football League to impose a code of conduct on the games' fury celebrities rages on.

"We believe there is a need for a code of conduct," John Nagle, a spokesman for the Football League said.

"Mascots add a sense of fun and attract youngsters to matches but there have been a few negative incidents."

Code of conduct

The new code would ban mascots from entering the field of play, taunting fans or behaving in a vulgar fashion.

During the match the creatures would have to be content with chirping or howling, as the case may be, from areas well away from the touchline or the goal.

The code has been welcomed by ground safety officers at Preston North End, who have witnessed many a shame-faced incident by their own Deepdale Duck.

Preston's duck in deep trouble

On one occasion the Duck ruffled more than his own feathers when he was "sent off" by the match refereee and had to be dragged away by his wings.

The club later received an official warning from the Football League.

The deputy ground safety manager at Preston Barry Dilworth, said: "Most mascots are fans and they can get carried away.

"I think it is time there were rules which are the same for all clubs because mascots can create bad feeling.

"We don't allow the duck to go anywhere near away fans and going on the pitch is a no-no, but other clubs have their own rules."