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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Rebecca Cook

Soccer Aid viewers say same thing as Liam Payne captains after One Direction comments

Soccer Aid viewers made similar comments on Sunday evening as Liam Payne was interviewed ahead of the celebrity football match at the London Stadium.

The One Direction star will captain the England side for the first time, as they take on Usain Bolt's World XI and hope to win for the first time since 2018.

But the 28-year-old’s turn on the football pitch comes hot on the heels of his controversial comments on tensions with his former One Direction bandmates, claiming one member once threw him against a wall.

The singer recently appeared on Logan Paul’s podcast Impaulsive and was asked if any of the band had ever “come to blows”.

Liam said: “I think it’s well known in the band that I don’t like taking shit. I made it very obvious, I’m not going to tell you how.

“There was one moment where there was an argument backstage and one member in particular threw me up a wall. So I said to him, ‘If you don’t remove those hands there’s a high likelihood you’ll never use them again’.”

Liam said the unnamed member soon took his hands off him, but as Soccer Aid viewers took to Twitter during the build up to the football match, many referenced the explosive interview.

One joked: “Hope you nobody tackles Liam Payne too roughly during this match as we know it’s proper hard like…”

A second similarly jibed: “Lord help the goalie if Liam Payne sees him get his hands on that ball.”

“Lord help the goalie if Liam Payne sees him get his hands on that ball.” (Mike Marsland/WireImage)

“Oh look who is it Liam you won’t be able to use them hands again Payne,” a third tweeted.

Another viewer commented: “Everybody at Soccer Aid fearing for their hands with Liam Payne as a captain.”

Another wrote: “Liam Payne can’t look at him the same since he’s done that interview, makes me cringe,” as another tweeted: “Ever since I watched that Liam Payne interview I can’t look at him without laughing.”

Zayn sensationally quit One Direction after five years in 2015 (Getty Images)

The England team, which is made up of football legends and celebrities, enjoyed karaoke and a few laughs ahead of the game, with Liam keeping players in high spirits.

Liam threw a 'bonding exercise' party in their hotel on Saturday evening, with Jamie Carragher among those in attendance.

The hotel party was live streamed by Carragher to his 1.6million Instagram followers. Players from the World XI were also in attendance as the famous faces enjoyed a well-earned get together.

Soccer Aid is raising money for UNICEF – a charity committed to providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children across the world.

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