Myth: Former Russian president Mikail Gorbachev is an avid Wigan Athletic fan.
Truth: There was a long-standing rumour that Mikail Gorbachev was a Wigan Athletic fan. Unlike some of the other myths, this not actually detrimental to The Latics, in fact it was dreamt up by the club itself.
Commercial manager Peter Fillingham revealed truth about the story. It was dreamed up as a publicity stunt after a friendly with Soviet team Metallist Kharkhov on the 23rd of March 1970, because no-one would be able to disprove it.
The rumour built up to the extent that it was said that Gorbachev stopped the jamming of BBC radio broadcasts so he could keep up-to-date with English football scores.
Peter Fillingham said: ‘We even went as far as sending programmes to the Kremlin.’
This is a series of articles debunking some of the many myths that surround Wigan Athletic and are used by many of our detractors to belittle the club and its spectators.
Click Here to go to the Myths Section
If you know of any other myths that spread about our club, and would like to see an article countering it, then please email me with details of the myth, and the arguments against it, to editor@wigan.vitalfootball.co.uk If you want to write the article yourself, then just let me know if you want your name adding to the bottom as the author.
