Rod Stewart faced lawsuits for booting footballs at fans during concerts
Sir Rod Stewart has revealed that he’s been sued once or twice for kicking a football into the crowd at his concerts.
The veteran rockstar used to kick signed footballs into the stalls as part of his shows but has stopped in recent years after the lawsuits.
Talk about scoring an own goal!
Advert
The Sailing singer is a huge football fan and even dreamed of being a professional player as a young man.
Despite having a haircut more iconic than Beckham’s buzzcut, Stewart abandoned the pitch for music.
However, the 78-year-old has a lot of love for the beautiful game and is a Celtic FC supporter after meeting some of the players whilst touring in Scotland back in 1973.
“We just did a show with The Faces in Glasgow, and they all came to wake me and Ronnie [Wood] up to get us to go training,” the 'Maggie May' singer explained to TalkSport.
He added: “Ronnie didn’t get out of bed, but I went and I met Jock Stein. He looked at me and he laughed at my shoes. And since that day, I’ve become a Celtic supporter."
It wasn’t hard to convince Stewart after that, as his late father had been born in Leith and was also a fan of the Scottish side.
It’s why the 78-year-old had been so fond of a kickabout on stage and would regularly shoot signed footballs in the crowds at concerts.
Despite this, the 'Da Ya Think I’m Sexy' hitmaker has admitted that it’s gotten him into trouble more than once.
"People went mad. They would walk out with a football and get mugged outside as they're worth a lot of money," he admitted to The Sun, adding: "It is extraordinary the lengths people will go to get a hold of a football."
This wasn’t the only issue with the footballs, as the rocker revealed he'd even been sued over the stunt.
“I got one or two lawsuits," Stewart told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, adding: "In fact, when I got to the Hollywood Bowl last year, a dear friend who came all the way over to see me got smashed in the face with a ball.”
“It broke his glasses. He's still having operations. It was very upsetting for both of us," he said, revealing that he felt guilty over the incident.
However, Stewart still got a kick out of the accident and even told his friend: "You've got to keep your eye on the ball in all sports, mate."
Fans best be on the ball at Stewart’s next gig.
Katherine Sidnell