Cyril To Feature In New Mascot Book

Cyril The Swan will naturally feature in a book out later on this month about Football Mascots.

Published by Tempus Publishing, the book by Rick Minter traces the emergence of the football mascot and the important role that they now play for the football clubs.

There are over 300 photographs of all Premiership, Football League and SPL mascots from the famous - Fred the Red, Gunnersaurus, Cyril the Swan and H'Angus - to the lesser known and follows the people inside them examining their quirks and sincere love for a very strange job. Heroic deeds, cringing embarrasments, squabbles, love, jealousy and revenge are all played out in their defiantly wierd world

The book can be ordered for £10.99 from Amazon and all leading online bookstores

No Doubt this story will also be told

Source: The Guardian, February 20 1999

It was a rare moment of footballing ecstasy at the Vetch Field, home of third division Swansea City football club.

On a cold December Saturday afternoon, the home team had just taken the lead against Millwall in a first round FA Cup match and Swansea's number one fan could not contain himself. He raised his four-foot long neck to the skies, spread his eight-foot wide wings in joy and rushed on to the pitch to celebrate with the rest of the team.

Later this month, Cyril is set to make football history by becoming the first swan to be charged with bringing the game into disrepute when he faces a Football Association of Wales (FAW) disciplinary hearing following his pitch invasion.

The incident was reported by referee Steve Dunn to the football authorities and Cyril could face a lengthy ban if he is found guilty by a three man panel more accustomed to dealing with footballers who fall foul of the referee. But the saga of the swan has raised wider concerns over the future conduct of club mascots, who are becoming increasingly popular. There are fears that Cyril and his colleagues are damaging the reputation of the game.

Mike Lewis, commercial director at Swansea City who created Cyril the Swan, said: 'He is devastated and is truly sorry. He should not have done what he did and both Cyril and the club are taking the disciplinary hearing extremely seriously.'

In fact, so seriously the club banned Cyril for two games following the Millwall match and is also planning to build him a nest in a corner of the ground so that he can sit and watch games in future.

Mascots have become an integral part of football and early every club in the country has one. Previously, few clubs bothered with them but with an increase in the number of families attending football matches, clubs see mascots as a way of providing some pre-match entertainment. They are also seen as a way of forging links with fans and many smaller clubs in particular use their mascots for publicity work to try to draw more support.

Cyril's plight has brought accusations that the FAW and the referee are being kill-joys. Cyril is to be represented at the hearing by Maurice Watkins, the Manchester United lawyer who defended Eric Cantona for his two footed lunge on a Crystal Palace fan in January 1995. Two national newspapers have also launched campaigns to defend Cyril while Swansea City say they have been inundated with messages of support for the beleaguered mascot.

Mr Lewis said: 'We never thought Cyril would become such a national celebrity. The fans and players love him. He has become part of the club.'Cyril made his debut at the Vetch Field at the start of this season when he abseiled down a floodlight pylon to rapturous applause. He has gone on to establish himself firmly in the Premier League of club mascots and has yet to lose the half-time penalty shoot-out which takes place at every home match against the mascot of the visiting team. Last Christmas, Cyril also released his song 'Nice Swan Cyril' on CD and over 2,000 were sold. Cyril is so popular that his engagements diary is fully booked for the remainder of the year and he regularly attends charity events, weddings and shop and fete openings in the Swansea area. Next Saturday however, Cyril is set to make his national debut by doing the National Lottery draw before millions of viewers.

Standing at 10ft tall and weighing four stone, Swansea City insist that their mascot is more than somebody in a swan's costume. But a spokesman said that it was unlikely that Cyril himself would appear at the disciplinary hearing himself because 'swans cannot talk'.

The FAW insists it is treating the matter as if a fan ran on to a pitch.

Why not check out the latest Vetch Verdict on the BBC site?