One Direction's Louis Tomlinson to get Gabriel Agbonlahor apology
- Published
Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor is to apologise for the tackle on Louis Tomlinson that left the One Direction singer sick on the touchline.
The pair were playing in a charity match at Celtic Park organised by former footballer Stiliyan Petrov.
"It was one of those things," said Agbonlahor. "I'll apologise to Louis when we meet up.
"I know he enjoyed playing in the game and it's fantastic that he took time out to be here."
Agbonlahor, who was a team-mate of Petrov's at Aston Villa, received abuse from One Direction fans on Twitter, external after the game for the tackle.
Tomlinson this season signed for his local club Doncaster Rovers on a non-contract basis to play reserve games after impressing in another charity match.
Boy band One Direction last year became the first British group to debut on top of the Billboard 200 list when their Up All Night album sold more than 175,000 copies during the first week of release in the United States.
They have recently been promoting their own movie and fragrance, with their third album due out in late November, but the singer's football injury should not affect tour plans as their next concert is not scheduled until May 2014, in Dublin.
Tomlinson's participation, along with Westlife singer Nicky Byrne and other celebrities, helped boost the attendance to a capacity 60,000 in Glasgow for a game organised to raise money for the Stiliyan Petrov Cancer Foundation, set up by the former Bulgaria international who retired in May having been diagnosed with leukaemia in 2012.
But the 21-year-old's appearance, with the number 1D on the back of his shirt, ended prematurely when he was left hobbling from a tackle and was sick on the sidelines as he was substituted.
Martin O'Neill, the former Aston Villa and Celtic manager who was his boss for the day, said: "Agbonlahor smashed into him and he picked himself up and then was ill in the dressing-room area, but he's not too bad now I think.
"He had to rush off, but I think he's fine.
"He doesn't know where he is, but he's fine. He was genuinely ill, but he's OK now."
Actor Martin Compston also took part and said he was glad he was not on the receiving end of any heavy tackles.
"I was feeling a bit rough before the game, but everyone put an arm round me and I think I fared a wee bit better than the guy from One Direction by the look of it," said the Celtic fan.
"I've never seen Agbonlahor tackle anyone in my life, but he went fair through the wee boy because, when he walked off, he looked in a bit of a state.
"I hope he's all right, but I'm sure his management were worried."
Byrne scored for the Stiliyan Petrov XI, who won 5-3 thanks to a hat-trick from Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov and another from former Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City midfielder Martin Petrov.
Actor Warren Brown scored for Tomlinson's Celtic XI along with former Hoops strikers Henrik Larsson and Pierre van Hooijdonk.
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