Adrian Chiles is being defended for his outfit of choice at Liam Payne’s funeral after being mocked by ignorant social media users.

On Wednesday (20 November), One Direction star Payne was laid to rest at a private funeral attended by his family and former bandmates, one month after his death, aged 31.

Other stars in attendance were Girls Aloud’s Cheryl, Payne’s former partner and mother of their son Bear, and her bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. Simon Cowell, the music mogul who discovered Payne on The X Factor, was also present.

Another celebrity at the funeral was British TV presenter and DJ Chiles. Upon his arrival in Buckinghamshire, photos surfaced online showing him particularly standing out wearing a football coat emblazoned with a West Brom badge.

When many chimed in with their confusion about Chiles’s outfit of choice, and proceeded to mock the former Match of the Day 2 host, it was highlighted that he was, in fact, friends with Payne – and their bond was cemented by their shared love of the football team.

Payne’s fans called it a “nice touch” and a “fitting tribute” after viral X/Twitter posts mocked the host.

Writer Charlie Herbert added: “You see this and initially think it’s a bit funny and weird, and then you learn he and Liam went to West Brom games together, and it suddenly becomes a beautifully touching tribute. What a lovely man.”

One user replied: “I initially had no idea how they even knew each other, this is a heartwarming touch from Chiles.”

Chiles would often attend matches at the same time as Payne, starting right after the singer appeared on The X Factor in 2010.

Adrian Chiles wore a West Bromwich Albion coat to Liam Payne’s funeral (Getty)
Speaking to the BBC, Chiles explained: “I got to know him when he first did X Factor. He came up to me and said ‘Up the Albion’ – he was a West Brom fan. Just as a sign as to how massive he was, I remember we snuck him into a Boxing Day game and I think his mum and dad came and sat with me.

“But we managed to secrete our man up in the commentary gantry so he didn’t get bothered. Then a friend of mine texted me to ask ‘Why are West Brom trending number one on Twitter?’ I went, ‘Well it could be because Liam Payne is here and he tweeted he was here and the whole world went mad for it.’”