One is a four-time Olympic champion and a face of the 2012 Games and the other a Premier League referee - but it appears some football fans are having trouble telling them apart.

Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy revealed today he has been on the receiving end of insulting Twitter messages from Tottenham supporters who have mistaken him for Chris Foy.

Foy was in charge of Spurs' 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Stoke yesterday, when the visitors had an Emmanuel Adebayor goal wrongly ruled out for offside, two penalty appeals for handball turned down and Younes Kaboul harshly sent off.

One of those to get the pair's identities mixed up, @chutneymutt, tweeted: "Chris Hoy, not only are you a useless **** of a referee, you also support Stoke."

@JohnnyJ-Smyth posted: "Robbed ! Chris hoy calls himself a premier league referee ! #mug."

Hoy, who won three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, was forced to defend himself, saying: "Just for the record 1) I don't need glasses and 2) I do not lead a double life as an English premiere league ref. That's Chris Foy."

He continued to protest his innocence, adding: "Still getting some rather amusing grief from Spurs fans! On the plus side I've learned some new 4 letter words today. #FoyNotHoy."