Being a prankster is a long-enjoyed tradition by people who are simply much braver than most of us. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Borat film, for example, or something starring Ali G, then you will no doubt be aware of just how much chutzpah Sacha Baron Cohen has, given how many times he’s in situations that most of us would despise being in, simply for the purposes of comedy.
Some people love demonstrating how brave they are and finding out precisely what they’re able to get away with, which is how Karl Power once managed to be involved in a Manchester United team photograph.
Who is Karl Power?
Hailing from Droylsden in Greater Manchester, Karl Power was unemployed when he pulled off the prank that made him famous. A father of two, he was born in 1967 and was the youngest member of a family that included ten other children. Brought up in a Catholic family in Ancoats, he got into carrying out stunts at a young age.
He would often miss school as a youngster, once fracturing his femurs when carrying out a stunt that saw him pedal over a local landfill that was known as ‘Death Hill’. He became friends with Tommy Dunn, the pair of them committing minor scams to pay for petrol.
On this day 2001: Karl Power managed to line up with the United team in the Champions League Quarter Finals second leg match against Bayern Munich pic.twitter.com/yH8uDwAovd
— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) April 18, 2020
Lacking a formal education, he earned money through petty crime and carrying out demolitions, once going to prison for driving without a licence. He was an amateur boxer and weightlifter, soon learning that he could make it into locations holding price fights if he carried a sports bag on account of the fact that he had a busted nose.
Friends with the founders of the band the Happy Mondays, in 1996 he was, he claimed, the victim of mistaken identity when he was attacked with machetes, losing four and a half pints of blood. He had 12 surgeries and was lucky to survive the assault.
The Manchester United Team Photo Prank
It was the 18th of April 2001 when Karl Power pulled off the prank that made him famous. Manchester United, the team that he supported, were gearing up for the second-leg of their Champions League quarter-final match against Bayern Munich.
Having lost the first-leg 1-0, the players were in no mood for smiles as they were asked to line up for the pre-match photograph. Those that had been picked to start for the Red Devils were lined up in their white away kit, seeing 11 men ready for the official photograph that would be taken prior to the kick-off and the start of the game.
@bladehinds57 #karlpower #manchesterunited #prankwars #fergie #extra #fyp ♬ original sound – Chris Beans Means Hi
A quick look at that photograph now, however, will reveal that there were, in fact, 12 men who were lined up in front of the crowd at the Olympic Stadium. That is thanks to the fact that Power had been able to get onto the pitch wearing a replica shirt, with only Gary Neville seemingly noticing the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be there.
Even as the club’s right-back tried to point it out, however, the photo was being taken. Power then left the pitch and headed back into the stand, from where he watched the Red Devils lose 2-1. It was his presence that would take the most headlines, though.
What Other Pranks Has He Pulled?
As you might imagine, someone who has the balls to walk onto a football pitch in the middle of Munich wasn’t going to stop there. In fact, he had a plan to pull off four other pranks during a massive summer of sport.
The next time he was seen by the watching public was during the fourth Ashes test between England and Australia at Headingley. Having donned his cricket gear, complete with helmet, he walked out as if he was going to bat, but was quickly identified the moment that he had to remove his helmet. As he walked off, he could be seen waving to fans.
There are few British sporting institutions as well-known as Wimbledon, so obviously Powers felt that the key thing for him to do was to get onto Centre Court and knock a few balls back and forth prior to a Tim Henman match.
He also managed to make it onto the pitch as one of England’s rugby union players, as well as make it to the podium at the end of the British Grand Prix before Michael Schumacher made it there. Sadly for Power, the Wimbledon prank got him in trouble, being handed a six-month jail sentence when a Daily Mail article revealed that he’d been claiming disability benefits.