Rod Stewart is facing legal action from a fan who was smacked in the face by one of the soccer balls the rocker loves to kick into the crowds at gigs.

Mostafa Kashe alleges he was caught offguard while attending a Stewart show at the Caesars Palace resort in Las Vegas in October, 2012, and was struck in the face by one of the Maggie May hitmaker's props.

The singer allegedly kicked the ball with "sufficient force" to break Kashe's nose.

He claims he required cosmetic surgery and was forced to cut short a family Vegas vacation - and now he is suing for compensation.

Kashe's lawyer filed papers in Clark County Court on Monday (22Sep14), naming Stewart, Caesar's Palace bosses and officials at promoter AEG Live as defendants, claiming they were negligent in not warning fans.

In the documents, his lawyer writes, "Stewart either knew or should have known that his actions could cause injury to unsuspecting patrons of his concerts."

Kashe claims he still suffers from mental and physical pain and is demanding more than $10,000 (£6,250) in damages, in addition to compensation for lost wages and legal fees.

The Scottish star has yet to comment on the lawsuit.

Ironically, soccer-mad Stewart admitted last year (13) that he had been warned by Caesars Palace officials about his ball-kicking antics over fears a fan might fall from a balcony reaching for a trophy.

The singer told The Hollywood Reporter, "What I do is... try and lob them up in the air so people can see them coming. I was getting them up onto the third balcony at Caesars Palace, and the audience absolutely loved it.

"But the people at Caesars said, 'You've got to stop it, because the balcony is so dangerous. People are reaching out and someone's going to go straight over... into the audience - and the evening would grind to a very painful halt.'"