Sir Rod Stewart has riled up fans after making an appearance in the stands of a World Cup game shortly after cancelling a gig due to health reasons.
The 81-year-old had been scheduled to perform on Friday night in Chula Vista, San Diego, but scrapped the gig 40 minutes before he was due to go on stage.
The rock legend was then spotted cheering on Scotland at a World Cup match, with his sons and wife a day later, with two glasses of what appeared to be alcohol in front of him.
The Maggie May hitmaker took a private jet from California to Boston to attend the match, which saw Scotland clinch a 1-0 victory over Haiti, in what was their first World Cup win in decades.
An official statement from his One Last Time farewell tour on Friday explained that he had been diagnosed with laryngitis, reading: ‘Rod Stewart very regretfully has had to cancel his show tonight in Chula Vista, California.’
It continued: ‘He travelled to the venue and made every effort to perform, but on the advice of this doctor, and following a diagnosis of an acute respiratory infection that has resulted in laryngitis, he is unable to take to the stage this evening.’
Sir Stewart took to social media afterwards to apologise to fans in a post from Chula Vista, describing the stage he had been set to perform on being taken down.
‘Following treatment, I’m feeling much better, but my voice is not. I’m very disappointed and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans,’ he wrote on his Instagram Story.
‘I did everything I could to make the show happen tonight, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t possible. I will do my utmost to reschedule.’
The following day he posted a clip on a jet to the Boston game, joining his sons in a chant of ‘No Scotland, no party!’, which left fans questioning why he had not performed the night prior.
The comments section was filled with fans expressing their dismay at Sir Stewart’s apparent tone deafness, with many claiming they had travelling hours for the cancelled gig.
One wrote: ‘The cancellation was frustrating enough, but this comes across as incredibly dismissive of the fans who support your career. A little empathy and awareness would have gone a long way.’
‘This feels rather disingenuous, especially after your cancellation last night. Too ill to perform but okay to fly across the country for soccer?’ another questioned.
A third wrote: ‘I love Rod Stewart I always have I always will. This is the only thing I’ve ever disagreed with that he’s done.
‘I am so sorry to all of you in San Diego that were heartbroken and then have to see this video. In my opinion he should not have posted this.’
Metro contacted Sir Rod Stewart’s representatives for comment on this story.
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