Swansea’s Snoop Dogg party ended with a bang on Tuesday night as Liam Cullen’s stoppage-time leveller snatched a 1-1 draw against Preston.
The American rap icon, attending his first match at the Swansea.com Stadium since taking a minority stake in the club last year, was given a raucous welcome ahead of kick-off as excited supporters waved white towels and chanted his name.
It looked as though Preston were going to spoil the party when Daniel Jebbison fired the visitors ahead in the 26th minute. But a dramatic, 95th-minute strike from Cullen rescued a point for the Swans to end a famous night on a high note.
After the match, Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom insisted his team were not fazed by the rapper’s presence, joking: ‘The only thing I noticed different was the smell of weed in the tunnel before the game!’
Snoop Dogg arrived at the stadium dressed in white from head to toe, sporting a hefty range of Swansea-branded merchandise, including a shirt, trousers and jacket.
The music legend, who wore sunglasses and carried a speaker as he entered the building, posed for photographs with star-struck fans and even enjoyed a pre-match kickabout on the pitch.
Snoop Dogg brought a party atmosphere to Swansea on his first visit to the club since purchasing a minority stake in the club
Excited Swans supporters waved white towels and chanted his name ahead of kick-off
Prior to the match, Snoop Dogg, arrived in Wales after fulfilling his official ‘Coach Snoop’ role at the Winter Olympics with Team USA, received a standing ovation from fans on a lap of honour.
White towels showing Snoop Dogg’s face and the message ‘make some noise’ were left on every seat in the stadium and supporters enjoyed waving them wildly during his seven-minute procession.
The club had encouraged fans to be in their seats 20 minutes before kick-off to ‘join him in a pre-match towel twirl’ – a regular feature in American sports.
Despite taking in the party atmosphere before kick-off and watching most of the game from the stands, the hip-hop icon missed Cullen’s late equaliser having already moved into the club lounge.
Footage shared to social media on Tuesday night showed Snoop Dogg enjoying refreshments and watching the remainder of the match on TV screens before the stadium erupted.
Celebrating the goal, he could be heard saying ‘way to go buddy’ as he applauded Cullen for his last-gasp equaliser.
All supporters were given a special Snoop Dogg towel which they twirled before the game
Snoop, 54, became a minority owner of the Welsh club, whose board also includes American television host Martha Stewart and Croatian legend Luka Modric, last July and his first visit to Swansea attracted a record crowd to a stadium opened in 2005.
The rapper, who has spent the last 24 hours performing a private gig in Llansamlet and visiting the club’s training ground, said at the time he was ‘proud’ to become an investor in Swansea due to them being ‘an underdog that bites back, just like me’.
Daily Mail Sport has reached out to Snoop Dogg’s team for comment on the back of Heckingbottom’s claims.
