David Cameron has blamed "brain fade" for mixing up his claret and blue football sides and urging people to support a premier league rival to his favourite team.
In a speech on the campaign trail, the Prime Minister said he would prefer people to support West Ham when he is a self-proclaimed Aston Villa fan.
He later echoed the comment made by the Green Party leader Natalie Bennett following a poor interview performance.
But the slip led to derision on Twitter and has been seized on by critics to doubt his true commitment to the team.
In an interview with Sky News’ Dermot Murnaghan to be shown on Sunday, Mr Cameron sought to duck questions over his gaffe and admitted he had not been to a game for "years and years".
Tackled by journalists after his speech over his football allegiances, Mr Cameron said: "I had what Natalie Bennett described as a brain fade.
"I'm a Villa fan ... I must have been overcome by something ... this morning.
"But there we are, these things sometimes happen when you are on the stump."
When pressed on the Murnaghan programme over his support for Aston Villa, the PM said: "I am not doing quiz time because I will get them all wrong."
He said he became a fan at the time of the team's victory in the 1982 European Cup Final and because of his uncle's involvement in the club.
But Mr Cameron added: "I don't go very often. In fact I haven't been for years and years, but I try to keep up."
Following his footballing faux pas, the chat show host and former tabloid editor Pier Morgan tweeted:
This has to cost Cameron the election, surely? How can anyone 'forget' which football team they support? Unforgivable. #CameronOut
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 25, 2015
TV football presenter Gary Lineker said in a Twitter post: "David Cameron has forgotten which Football Club he supports. Aston Villa last week, West Ham this. Burnley next?"
Political opponents also waded in.
Former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell - whose own team Burnley also play in claret and blue - said:
Sorry but I am going off on one - @David_Cameron doesn't know what Living Wage is and confuses 'his' Aston Villa with West Ham. Just go away
— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) April 25, 2015
And Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, an avid Norwich City fan, tweeted: "Hey David Cameron ... I'm off to see that football team I support this afternoon. Name escapes me ... they play in yellow ... Watford?"
Originally published at 10.56am
