Ruben Dias' father accidentally headbutted Noel Gallagher during City's dramatic 2022 title win

Noel Gallagher ended Manchester City’s dramatic Premier League title win over Aston Villa in May 2022 not with a celebration, but with stitches in his lip and two black eyes — the result of an accidental headbutt from defender Ruben Dias’ father during the chaos that followed Ilkay Gundogan’s 81st-minute winner at the Etihad Stadium.

The Oasis guitarist recalled the incident on talkSPORT in the days after City’s comeback victory, in which they overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Villa 3-2 on the final day and pip Liverpool to the title. Gundogan scored twice and Rodri equalised as City retained their crown in one of the most frantic finales in Premier League history.

“So as the third goal goes in, right, there is absolute bedlam,” Gallagher said. “Ruben Dias’ family are in the box, a couple of boxes up. So I’m jumping around like an idiot, passing my 11-year-old son around like the Premier League trophy, everyone is lifting him up and I turn around and Ruben Dias’ dad runs straight into me, headbutting me. I’m on the floor, covered in blood. I don’t see the last two minutes.”

Gallagher was taken to be treated by St John’s Ambulance staff and required stitches to his top lip. He also described a brief encounter with City manager Pep Guardiola in the corridor shortly afterwards. “As I’m going down the corridor, Pep’s running up crying and we kind of hug each other and he says, ‘What’s up with your face?’ And I was like, ‘Go and be with your players, nothing to do with me.’”

The story resurfaced this week amid renewed attention on the Gallagher brothers, whose band Oasis is set to return for a stadium tour in 2027, two years after ending a 15-year hiatus. The tour includes UK dates in Glasgow, Manchester and Knebworth, as well as shows across Europe, Ireland and North America.

Both Noel and Liam Gallagher have been lifelong City supporters. Their father first took Noel to Maine Road in 1971, and the brothers have remained devoted fans ever since — even when, as Noel discovered that evening in 2022, supporting City in person carries its own physical risks.