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They say footballers never lose their competitive edge even when their playing days are over. That is something One Director star Louis Tomlinson can attest to following his brush with tal KSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor. Tomlinson and Agbonlahor were playing in a charity game organised to raise money for the Stiliyan Petrov Cancer Foundation. And it was there that a crunching challenge from the former Aston Villa striker left the pop star vomiting on the side of the Celtic Park pitch. Agbonlahor’s crunching challenge led to Tomlison tearing his medial ligament. Worse was to come for the 1D star as his budding football career quickly went up in smoke. Tomlinson's hometown club Doncaster Rovers had signed him on non-contract terms after impressing in another charity game at the Keepmoat Stadium. He was in line to make his debut for Doncaster's reserve team in a Central League fixture a week after playing in the Stiliyan Petrov charity game. But the injury meant he was forced to pull out, leaving thousands of adoring fans devastated that they would not be able to get a glimpse of the star. Tomlinson makes his return to Soccer Aid this weekend, eight years after his previous appearance at the charity match. And the star spoke to talk SPORT about his brush with Agbonlahor back in 2013. “He snapped me! ” said Tomlinson describing Agbonlahor’s brutal challenge. “I was actually meant to be playing in a reserve game for Doncaster Rovers about a week afterwards and it put me out of that game. “I’d accept an apology in the form of a donation to Unicef, I think that’s the right thing to do ”Asked if he has fully recovered from the injury, he said: “We’ll see by the end of this trip I suppose. ” But the events of May 2013 were seen very differently by Agbonlahor who claims his challenge was a fair one. “It was a 50/50, ” he told talk SPORT Breakfast. “If you want to come on the big boys' pitch with the footballers you’ve got to be ready. “You’ve got to be fit, you can’t be out the night before with some of the players at the hotel. I apologised to him afterwards. " Agbonhalor then opened up on a telling he got from a Celtic legend in the aftermath of the incident before things took a real turn for the worse after Tomlinson’s fan club vented their anger. “You know who told me off? Henrik Larsson, ” said the former Villa striker. “It was a charity game for Stiliyan Petrov at Celtic Park. It was a telling off. I was like ‘alright Henrik, relax mate’. "He said: 'You better apologise to him. ' “I had death threats afterwards from teenage girls so I was hiding away at home peeping out the window, ” Agbonlahor joked. “I didn’t try to hurt him. It was a 50/50 and he came off worse. ” © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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