10 Times the Worlds of Football and Music Have Collided
Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has hit headlines this week for an unlikely reason: He has been dropped this weekend for the crime of going to see an Ed Sheeran gig.
According to the BBC, Clattenburg breached league protocol when he travelled to and from Crystal Palace's draw with West Brom alone, so he could drive straight to the performance. The rules state that he should have travelled with his fellow officials for reasons of safety and integrity.
The worlds of football and music often clash in weird and wonderful ways—here are 10 such instances...
Wayne Rooney's Stereophonics Show Stopper
1 of 10Wayne Rooney loves him some Stereophonics.
The Manchester Utd striker is such a fan of the Welsh rockers that he has the title of their third album 'Just Enough Education To Perform' tattooed on his forearm.
According to lead singer Kelly Jones, a teenage Rooney attempted to steal a hoodie from a merchandise stand at one of their shows and had his jaw broken by one of their security team—possible the singer's brother.
Apparently, Rooney didn't have quite enough education to perform appropriately that evening.
Lionel Messi Doesn't Look Back in Anger
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In 2010, Leo Messi made headlines in The Sun newspaper when it was claimed he had joined an Oasis tribute band.
"Our disguise is based on how Oasis looked in the mid-'90s. We have our wigs, clothes and glasses sorted," he was quoted as saying. "I also spent a lot of time getting the mannerisms right."
Sadly, this extraordinarily unlikely story proved to be false, with an Argentinean journalist later discovering that the Barcelona star did not even know who Oasis were.
Rod Stewart's Concert Chaos
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Veteran rocker Rod Stewart loves the beautiful game and even had trials with Brentford as a youngster.
The former Faces man usually kicks footballs into the crowd at his concerts, but this fun idea backfired at a show in Las Vegas two years ago, when one of the flying spheres apparently broke an audience member's nose.
Rod is now being sued as reported by The Telegraph.
One Donny-Rection
4 of 10Global pop behemoth One Direction boast a talented footballer among their ranks in Louis Tomlinson.
Last year, the teen heartthrob fulfilled his childhood dream of playing for his beloved Doncaster Rovers. In June, Tomlinson went a step further by becoming an owner of the team.
Tomlinson also made headlines last year when he was flattened in a charity match by Gabby Agbonlahor, prompting the Villa star to receive death threats from unhappy fans.
J-Lo's World Cup No-Show
5 of 10With the honour of singing the official 2014 World Cup anthem with Pitbull bestowed upon her, Jennifer Lopez was scheduled to perform at the tournament's opening ceremony.
However, with a matter of hours to go, Jenny from the Block pulled out of proceedings for no particular reason.
Then, perhaps realising the backlash to snubbing the world's biggest sporting tournament outside of the Olympics, she suddenly decided to perform after all in what was eventually an ill-received ceremony.
Oh, the drama of it all.
Serge Pizzorno's Ridiculous Tekkers
6 of 10Serge Pizzorno grew up wanting to be a striker for his beloved Leicester FC. Instead, he had to settle for for a hum-drum life as an internationally adored member of Kasabian.
In 2007, the guitarist showed his impressive skills in Soccer AM's car park game, managing to tee himself up for a sensational volley, despite wearing fashionable winkle-picker shoes.
Not long afterwards, Serge scored an amazing lob over David Seaman in a celebrity Soccer Aid match.
Noel Gallagher Grills Super Mario
7 of 10During a period of his life in which he could barely close his front door without making front-page news, Mario Balotelli rarely commented on the fantastical stories about him.
In the football/music equivalent of Frost taking on Nixon, the Italian striker agreed to an interview with Oasis legend Noel Gallagher. Mario opened up to The Guv'nor, dispelling many claims about him in an awkward-yet-entertaining conversation.
When Bands Sponsor Teams
8 of 10Over the years, several musical acts have helped keep their favourite teams going with sponsorship deals.
In 1999, zany Welsh rocks the Super Furry Animals paid a five-figure sum to have their band name emblazoned on Cardiff City's kit. Incidentally, SFA's brilliant single 'The Man Don't Give a F***' (NSFW link) came with a picture of former Cardiff rogue Robin Friday on its cover.
Elsewhere, Fatboy Slim's record label Skint once sponsored his local team Brighton & Hove Albion, while Clydebank FC had to go out with 'Wet Wet Wet' written across their chests in 1993.
Petr Cech's Crowning Moment with Queen
9 of 10Chelsea's second-choice shot-stopper Petr Cech forged an unlikely friendship with Queen drummer Roger Taylor last year. The pair met on a flight and bonded over their love of hitting things with sticks in a rhythmic nature.
They hit headlines when they met up and jammed together, but judging by the keeper's skills behind the kit, he's probably not going to be asked to do any guest appearances with Queen on the road.
Diana Ross' Penalty Loss
10 of 10If we were to speculate the real reason why Jennifer Lopez nearly cancelled her World Cup opening ceremony performance, we could look back 20 years to the precedent set at USA '94 by Diana Ross.
During a huge song and dance number, the Motown legend was supposed to take a penalty so fierce that it would make the goal explode. But she missed and the goal exploded anyway.
It was supremely embarrassing. Sorry.
