After a Doncaster kit design competition was won by One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson and fans cried foul, the club has been forced to issue a statement denying that the process to select the winning entry was fixed.

Soooooo me and my Grandad Len won the competition of designing the new Donny away shirt. Pretty sick 😎

— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) April 4, 2016

Supporters were asked to send in their ideas for next season and the ‘top five’ designs would be put to an online vote.

It is said that Louis Tomlinson’s design for the new Doncaster Rovers away kit received 33.7% of the total votes cast in that category.

Earlier on Tuesday the club launched the kit in Thailand and the boyband star will be pleased to know that he has won flights to the country to see the first stage of the kit manufacturing.

Doncaster Had a Competition For Fans To Design An Away Kit For Next Season. Louis Tomlinson From 1D Won😂😂 What An Absolute Fix Hahahahaha

— Curtis Duffield (@CurtissDuffield) April 5, 2016

Pleased to announce that following a competition in the latest issue of Popular Stand, I'm now the latest member of One Direction. #DRFC

— Tony Greenall (@TonyCSGreenall) April 5, 2016

However some observers found it suspicious that the club’s most famous supporter won first prize and Doncaster released this brief statement on their website “following the recent media coverage surrounding the 2016/17 shirt designs”:

A spokesperson for Doncaster Rovers said: “The process for receiving kit designs, shortlisting and the public voting for our kit design competition followed strict legal guidance to ensure that the club adhered to competition law and that all processes were fair.

“We are aware that the result of the competition has attracted some mixed feedback, but we can assure our fans that the voting process for the 2016/17 shirt designs was all was fair and above board.”

The club will make no further comment at this time.