BALL AND PAIN
Rod gives up kicking footballs into crowd after fans get mugged
SIR Rod Stewart has stopped kicking footballs into concert crowds after learning fans catching them were being mugged.
The football-mad rocker’s on-stage kickabout has been part of his routine for decades.
The 75-year-old used to autograph each ball and then boot them into audiences.
But he says the playful gesture has led to fights at concerts and some people being robbed of the prized souvenir as their way home.
And Celtic fan Rod joked battles for his show footballs were as competitive as Old Firm derbies.
Speaking on Radio X podcast The Harry Redknapp Show, he said: “I used to kick footballs out into the crowd. I’ve been doing it for 30 years but had to stop. People would walk out the gig with the football and would get mugged outside as they are worth a lot of money.”
On one of the last occasions footballs were kicked into the crowd – at Santa Barbara Bowl in California in 2018 – Rod’s sons Aiden and Alistair did the honours as he had hurt his leg playing the sport.
In recent years, two fans have launched lawsuits against the singer after claiming they were injured by footballs kicked into crowds at Las Vegas shows.
Mostafa Kashe claimed one of the balls had broken his nose at a concert in Caesar’s Palace in 2012 and accused the singer of “negligent, careless and/or reckless behaviour”.
In 2019, Glen Garofano sued for damages after claiming he was knocked down and injured as other concert-goers attempted to retrieve a ball kicked into the crowd in 2017.
At the time, Rod said: “The show wouldn’t be the show if I stopped kicking out those footballs. It is extraordinary the lengths people will go to get a hold of a football. I’ve seen fights and blows – even between women.”