Robbie Williams pokes fun at ‘deeply unprofessional’ blunder in World Cup show

By Pierra Willix, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

Robbie Williams has responded after suffering a “deeply unprofessional” blunder during the World Cup.

The 52-year-old British singer performed alongside Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and Italian singer Laura Pausini during the closing ceremony of the football showpiece on Sunday night.

However he also drew attention for an appearance on German TV channel Magenta Sport, where he was speaking to pundits when he accidentally spat out a small white object on to his microphone.

He picked it off and kept it in his hands before going on to rub his head, with the object then sticking to his forehead.

Williams has shared a video on social media explaining what the object was.

Filming himself lying in bed, the performer says: “I’d just like to apologise for the object that fell on to the microphone yesterday.

“I was deeply unprofessional, and people worried about me.”

“But it’s OK. Because I had several more,” he continues, before sticking his tongue out and revealing two circular mints.

Williams breaks out laughing before the video cuts off.

Captioning the Instagram post, he wrote: “Just woke up and feeling…. Mint x.”

The singer has previously spoken about his struggles with mental illness, obesity, self-esteem, alcoholism and substance abuse.

On Sunday night, the first World Cup half-time show was also held.

The final between Argentina and Spain featured an 11-minute spectacle with stars from around the world including Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber.

Fifa extended the half-time interval of the match from the customary 15 minutes to more than 27 minutes.

Former England forward Wayne Rooney, who was at the New York New Jersey Stadium working as a BBC pundit alongside Joe Hart and Micah Richards, did not hold back when asked for his highlights of the show by presenter Gabby Logan

“I’ll be honest, mine was when it finished. I like a lot of them artists but I thought it was crap,” he said.

“It just didn’t get me going and I wanted the football to come back on. I like Burna Boy, I like Bieber, I like Shakira, but that was too flat.”

Richards called Rooney “miserable” for his assessment, while Logan added: “I’ll tell you what else you get on the BBC: honest reviews.”