As yet another Josh McCown pass sails over the head of a receiver and into the clear blue Florida sky, most Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans would be forgiven for seeking solace in alcohol. Unfortunately, they may have been denied this right over the weekend after the team’s stadium reportedly sold coloured water as alcohol.

Miami Dolphins fan Troy Sykes, who was visiting the Raymond James Stadium to see his team play the Buccaneers, told WFLA-TV that he ordered tequilas for himself and a friend – only to discover the shots were water. “The ladies next to us were drinking Cuervo, and we asked for a couple of shots of Cuervo. When they gave them to us, we took them and they were coloured water. That’s all it was,” Sykes said.

According to attorney Elizabeth DeConti, an expert on the alcohol industry, the incident was probably a mistake – but still illegal.

“When I hear that someone has been served water from an alcoholic beverage bottle that has a label on it, that’s not legal. But usually that happens because of negligent mistake,” DeConti said. “Someone thought that they were decorating their bar with this bottle and they ended up serving someone by accident.”

That theory was backed up by Aramark, who run concessions at the stadium. “What occurred was an honest mistake,” said an Aramark spokesman. He added that filling display bottles with coloured water is a common practice in the industry but Aramark would now put alcohol in all its bottles.

Reports that a brand of water known as “Bud Light” had infiltrated stadium bars across America were unconfirmed at press time.