Join The Club
Rod Stewart is arguably Scotland's most famous fan and the singer has sparked a furore among his own loyal followers after cancelling a concert in California on Friday evening.
World Cup 2026 started on Thursday and Stewart, 81, is a dedicated supporter of Celtic and Scotland, who opened their World Cup with a 1-0 win over Haiti in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Saturday.
The singer's gig in the Southern California city of Chula Vista was cancelled due to health concerns. According to Hello!, the Faces frontman was diagnosed with 'an acute upper respiratory infection and laryngitis' and was unable to perform his show near San Diego.
Play our free match predictor and win £1k
No Stewart, No Scotland, No Party
To the chagrin of his shunned fans on the other side of the United States – most of whom don't care for soccer or Steve Clarke's Scotland team – Stewart's image was beamed around the world on Saturday as he enjoyed the hospitality on offer at Gillette Stadium during Scotland's first World Cup win since 1990.
With Scotland leading thanks to John McGinn's deflected goal, their first at a World Cup since Craig Burley's goal in 1998, Stewart was sitting in close proximity to various shades of wine.
Understandably, it wasn't long before there was a reaction from outside the World Cup's social walls.
"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!
"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 soldier was, crucially, not required to sing to a professional and 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 of age, there's never been a suggestion that Stewart is enough of a flake to blow off his work duties at the last minute in order to board a cross-country flight on the hoof 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 take on 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...
