Fan finally shaves beard after Oxford awarded first penalty in 675 days

It had been 675 days since Oxford United were last awarded a penalty when the referee pointed to the spot at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday. The last time the U's won a spot kick, Des Buckingham was manager, Rishi Sunak was prime minister and Italy were the reigning European champions. But Saturday's penalty didn't just end a run stretching back almost two years, it also meant one United fan could finally shave - having vowed he wouldn't until his team were awarded one. Gary Hudson, who is better known as Fred Big-Ox, had been wearing a yellow wig and blue beard to matches to raise money for The Joey Beauchamp Foundation - a mental health charity formed in honour of one of United's greatest ever players. "It started off as a joke before Christmas when we got to 600 days... and then I started wearing it," he previously explained. "Then people said I should get it sponsored, so I thought I'd raise money for the Joey Beauchamp Foundation, 'why not?'." On Saturday, that run finally came to an end when Cameron Brannagan scored from the spot. "It was a surreal moment, I just threw everything up in the air," Gary said. "The funniest moment for me was when two of my friends came down to see me and walked straight past me and didn't realise it was with me without my beard on." "It was quite funny - I've had it on for that long." Having already discarded his fake beard, Gary shaved his real facial hair off live on BBC Radio Oxford's Breakfast with Sophie Law on Monday morning - leaving him feeling "cold". Alongside his hairy challenge, Gary has also raised hundreds of pounds for the Joey Beauchamp Foundation. Speaking after the game, Oxford manager Matt Bloomfield thanked Gary for his "fantastic gesture". "I'm glad that we finally got a penalty, and also that there's been some money put towards a good cause," Bloomfield added. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook , X , or Instagram . Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.