Sky Sports presenter Michelle Owen was bombarded with angry messages after being confused with namesake Michael.
Former England striker Owen has lifted the lid on his incredible career in his new book, which is being serialised by Mirror Sport.
Owen riled Newcastle fans earlier this week by stating he still regrets joining the club, and hit out at the 'blind delusion' of the Toon Army.
He also revealed the truth about his 10-year feud with Newcastle legend Alan Shearer, with the pair continuing their spat on social media.
But instead of supporters taking their frustrations out on the former Liverpool striker, they accidentally turned their attention to Sky Sports News presenter Michelle.
One tweet, replying to the Shearer row, referred to her as a 'ballbag', forcing Michelle to add: "I’ve been called worse, but you’ve ended an argument by insulting the wrong person- I’m going to change my handle to NOT MICHAEL OWEN."
She replied to another tweet: "Could help if you managed to get it to the right person."
Former England star Michael Owen received further abuse, with the Sky presenter defending him.
"In all seriousness there’s some vile stuff aimed at the actual Michael Owen on here- he’s had strong opinions but no excuse for such hate. In an age where we claim to care about mental health, perhaps remember that an actual person is on the receiving end of the vitriol," she wrote.
That led to Owen sending her his own message in apology.
He wrote: "Thanks for your kind words Michelle and I’m sorry that some of the abuse aimed for me has reached your twitter feed!!!"
