One Direction's Louis Tomlinson wins Doncaster Rovers kit design competition sparking fan anger

Tomlinson's winning design has been criticised.
Cooper Neill/Getty
Tom Doyle5 April 2016

Doncaster Rovers have defended the results of a competition which saw One Direction star Louis Tomlinson win the chance to design the club's away kit for next season.

Tomlinson is a well-publicised supporter of the League One club, and his design for Rovers' away kit for the 2016-17 season received 33.7 per cent of the vote.

The club only announced that the design was created by 'Rovers’ fan and local lad Louis Tomlinson!' after the polls had closed on Monday, but a number of fans questioned the legitimacy of the vote given Tomlinson's popularity and ties with the club.

Tomlinson signed for Rovers as a non-contract player in 2013 and played for the reserve side in 2014. He was also part of a failed bid to buy the club later that year.

However, the club released a statement on Tuesday defending the results of the vote, confirming that the process followed 'strict legal guidance.'

The statement read: "The process for receiving kit designs, shortlisting and the public voting for our kit design competition followed strict legal guidance to ensure that the club adhered to competition law and that all processes were fair.

"We are aware that the result of the competition has attracted some mixed feedback, but we can assure our fans that the voting process for the 2016/17 shirt designs was all was fair and above board.

"The club will make no further comment at this time."

The club also drew criticism for announcing that 'lucky' fans who pre-order the kit could win one of 20 shirts personally signed by Tomlinson.

Tomlinson said of his winning design: "I designed the kit with my granddad when I was home a few weeks ago.

"We used to go to Belle Vue together so it has always been a family affair with us and to now have a hand in next seasons away shirt is brilliant. I can’t wait to see my team wearing it."

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