Robbie Williams has humorously responded to a “deeply unprofessional” incident during the World Cup final, in which he inadvertently spat a small white object onto his microphone.
The 52-year-old singer performed alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Laura Pausini at the closing ceremony on Sunday, catching attention during a segment on German TV channel Magenta Sport.
While conversing with pundits, the object made its appearance. Williams picked it up, held it, and then rubbed it on his head, where it amusingly stuck to his forehead.
Robbie Williams performed alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Laura Pausini at the World Cup closing ceremony (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)
The amusing moment quickly drew attention. Williams later took to social media, posting a video to clarify the nature of the unexpected object.
In the video filmed from his bed, he said, “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 added, humorously sticking his tongue out to reveal two circular mints.
Williams stuck the object on his forehead after it dropped onto his microphone (Magenta Sport)
Williams burst into laughter just before the video ended.
In his Instagram post, he captioned it: “Just woke up and feeling…. Mint x.”
On Sunday night, the first World Cup half-time show also took place.
The final, featuring Argentina and Spain, included an 11-minute performance with stars from around the globe such as Madonna, Shakira, BTS, and Justin Bieber.
The event at New York New Jersey Stadium showcased Muppets characters Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.
FIFA extended the half-time period from the usual 15 minutes to over 27 minutes.
Former England forward Wayne Rooney, who was present at the New York New Jersey Stadium as a BBC pundit alongside Joe Hart and Micah Richards, shared his thoughts on the performance when asked 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 remarked.
“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 labeled Rooney “miserable” for his critique, while Logan chimed in, “I’ll tell you what else you get on the BBC: honest reviews.”