Note to humanity: One Direction fandom ain't nothin' to mess with.
A British soccer star learned this hard way over the weekend when the pop band's fanboys and fangirls brought a ruckus to his Twitter feed, tweeting him a fusillade of death threats following an incidental run-in Sunday during a charity soccer match.
See also: GQ Gets Twitter Death Threats for One Direction Magazine Covers
Gabriel Agbonlahor is the all-time leading goal-scorer for English Premier League side Aston Villa. He participated in a charity match honoring a former player now battling leukemia. Also playing: Louis Tomlinson, one-fifth of the British-Irish boy band One Direction.
Tomlinson was dribbling the ball about midway through Sunday's match when the pro striker Agbonlahor swooped in to knock it away from the tiny amateur. A clean play, to be sure, but there was some incidental contact as well, causing Tomlinson to collapse on the grass like a wounded deer. Then he limped off and promptly vomited into his hand, as shown here.
Tomlinson and Agbonlahor shared a moment as he left the field and all seemed fine on the pitch. On Twitter, however, things were just getting started: One Direction's fan base exploded in a fit of mass rage, threatening to end Agbonlahor in all sorts of unpleasant ways. To whit, here are just a few examples, with some mildly NSFW language:
WHOEVER PUSHED LOUIS DOWN I WILL FIND YOU AND PUSH YOU OFF THE GODDAMN EMPIRE STATE BUILDING!
— J a m R e y e s™ (@ItsJamReyes) September 8, 2013
this is how Louis hurt his knee, I will find that guy, and kill him. https://t.co/3tbsGCT1bq
— PROUD OF LOUIS (@LatestOf1D) September 8, 2013
@gabby_10 You obviously need Jesus. WE WILL FUCKING FIND YOU AND KILL YOU.
— morgan (@NiallUrBasicUgh) September 8, 2013
fuck off you @gabby_10, how could u touch my precious LOUIS? I WILL KILL U MUTHERFUCKER
— Lucho García #51 (@Lois7x) September 8, 2013
At least one person even took things a step further, threatening indiscriminate mass murder:
If i ever see louis cry bc he's hurt or sad i will kill the entire human race by myself
— karol(arry) (@nuttelarry) September 9, 2013
This is actually just the latest incident of rabid teenyboppers attacking sports stars online over perceived slights against their demigod idols of auto-tuned worship, however.
If you're scoring at home, for example, you'll recall the time not so long ago that Justin Bieber fans unleashed a digital fury upon an NFL Hall of Famer following criticism of Bieber's alleged reckless driving. But the beef goes both ways, too. Hockey fans on Twitter flew into a collective rage in July after photos surfaced of Bieber posing in quintessentially Bieber-like fashion with the Stanley Cup.
BONUS: One Direction and Directioners Fuse Online Powers to Battle Bullying
Image: Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Sony Pictures