Unluckily for singer Louis Tomlinson, the England vs. Mexico match was on right as he was performing in the US However, instead of miss the match, Louis turned his concert into a live football watch party
Louis Tomlinson divided opinions as he watched the England vs. Mexico World Cup match on stage (file)(Image: Getty Images)
A lot of England fans made sure they set their alarms to watch England‘s epic match against Mexico this year’s FIFA World Cup. The Round 16 knockout fixture, which saw England triumph, was scheduled for 7pm local time on Sunday, 5 July at (although aired in the UK at 2am on Monday, July 6).
Unluckily for singer Louis Tomlinson, the match was on right as he was performing at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, US, as part of his How Did We Get Here world tour. However, instead of miss the match, Louis turned his concert into a live football watch party, as he watched the match on a small screen while performing and live-streamed it against the wall so fans at the gig could watch too.
Louis, 34, from Doncaster, is a massive, lifelong football fan. He is deeply passionate about the sport, which he has frequently integrated into his music career, fashion lines, and personal life.
His ultimate allegiance lies with his hometown club, Doncaster Rovers FC, but he’s also known to be a fierce supporter of the England National Team.
With this in mind, it’s not that surprising that the One Direction star decided to watch the match live, despite the gig. However, not everyone was impressed.
One person shared a photo of Louis celebrating an England goal on stage as he stopped to take a break from singing, captioning it, ‘Me watching my $200 (£150) watch the World Cup on stage.’
Another person shared the clip on X, writing: “If I were at a concert and the singer was watching football while their band was doing all the work, I would be p****d off.”
The tweet went viral – racking up 1.1million views, as people had their say on the matter.
One person simple comment: “What the f**k.”
While another added: “I’m sorry… but that is so disrespectful to fans and lacks professionalism.”
A third chimed in: “The bare minimum is pretending the thing everyone paid for is happening.”
While a fourth asked: “Why would he do this?”
Despite the backlash, many of Louis’ fans – including those who were at the gig – spoke up to defend the star.
One person wrote: “Since so many people who weren’t at the show have an opinion on the World Cup being on screen, here’s Louis thanking us.
“The game being on was not a distraction to him or the fans at all, and he put on a world class show.”
While another agreed: “Safe to say this was the funniest and most interactive concert I’ve ever experienced and the World Cup made it 10x better.”
A third chimed in: “I think this is hilarious. Anyone complaining doesn’t know Louis.”
While a fourth simply wrote: “His tour his rule.”
Some people compared it to Louis’ fellow One Direction star Harry Styles watching a recent England match before his Wembley Stadium gig, however another person argued: “There is a difference between watching the game before your concert and during your concert.”
Another person asked: “Couldn’t he just reschedule or watch afterwards?”
However, someone else argued: “Rescheduling a whole show would be disrespectful, this is just fun.”
England’s next World Cup match will see them play Norway in the Quarter-finals on Saturday July 11, at 10pm BST (5pm local time – ET).
Unfortunately for Louis, he’s set to miss some of the match again, as he’s performing at the Skyline Stage at Highmark Mann in Philadelphia at 7pm EDT that day.
With EDT being one hour ahead of ET time, that means he’ll only be able to catch the first half before heading on stage.
We guess we’ll just have to wait and see if he gets his screen out again.
Representatives for Louis Tomlinson have been contacted for comment.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
