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Scotland superfan Rod Stewart has come under fire after he joined the Tartan Army to watch the nation's World Cup victory in Boston.
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Rod Stewart is arguably Scotland's most high-profile supporter, and the singer has ignited a controversy among his own dedicated fans after calling off a concert in California on Friday evening.
The 2026 World Cup kicked off on Thursday, and Stewart, 81, is a devoted follower of Celtic and Scotland, who began their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Haiti in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Saturday.
The singer's show in the Southern California city of Chula Vista was scrapped due to health issues. According to Hello!, the Faces frontman was diagnosed with 'an acute upper respiratory infection and laryngitis' and was unable to perform his concert near San Diego.
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No Stewart, No Scotland, No Party
Much to the annoyance of his disappointed fans on the opposite side of the United States—most of whom have no interest in soccer or Steve Clarke's Scotland team—Stewart's image was broadcast globally on Saturday as he enjoyed the hospitality at Gillette Stadium during Scotland's first World Cup win since 1990.
With Scotland ahead thanks to John McGinn's deflected goal, their first at a World Cup since Craig Burley's strike in 1998, Stewart was seated near various shades of wine.
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Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for a reaction to emerge from outside the World Cup's social media bubble.
"While many fans enjoyed seeing the singer's excitement, others questioned how he was well enough to travel across the country after cancelling his concert less than an hour before he was due to take the stage," reported Hello!
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"The cancellation is the latest setback in what has been a challenging period for the star.
"Earlier this month, Rod announced that several performances from his Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace would be rescheduled after doctors advised him to rest while recovering from flu."
The celebrity Tartan Army member was, crucially, not required to sing to a professional, arena-filling standard during Scotland's match. He said on Friday: "Following treatment, I'm feeling much better, but my voice is not," Rod wrote. "I'm very disappointed and sincerely apologise."
At 81 years old, there has never been any suggestion that Stewart is enough of a flake to ditch his work commitments at the last minute to hop on a cross-country flight on a whim for a football match, Scotland or otherwise.
He is scheduled to return to the stage at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on Monday evening. Scotland's second Group C fixture sees them face Morocco, also at Gillette Stadium, on Friday.
Will Scotland give Rod the Mod something even bigger to celebrate in Boston on Friday? Let us know in the comments below...
Chris is a Warwickshire-based freelance football writer specialising in West Midlands football, the Premier League, the EFL and the J.League. He is the author of the High Protein Beef Paste football newsletter and owner of Aston Villa Review . He supports Coventry Sphinx.
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