Liam Payne will be finally laid to rest this week, but his close friend and confidant Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores will not be attending, it has been reported.
The former One Direction star, 31, died just over a month ago from head injuries he suffered after falling from the balcony of his third-floor hotel suite in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
His heart-broken father Geoff brought his son’s remains back to Britain two weeks ago, following extensive examinations from the Argentinian authorities into his death.
Payne had travelled to Argentina in September with his close friend Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores – described by some as his manager – to renew his visa to live in the USA and watch his former band mate Niall Horan perform.
Businessman Roger, 31, visited Payne at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires three times in the hours before he fell to his death.
Now reports state that the funeral will finally take place this week in Wolverhampton but added that Roger is ‘not welcome’.
A source said the Payne family want the funeral to run smoothly and it would be ‘strained’ if Nores were to come.
They added that he has ‘never been popular’ with Payne’s ‘wider circle’.
Authorities have not named the ‘friend’, who they are accusing of ‘abandoning a person followed by death’ in relation to the singer’s demise.
Argentinian prosecutors probing Liam Payne’s death confirmed the arrests of three suspects who are now under formal investigation
Aerial view of the hotel where British singer Liam Payne died in Buenos Aires
Payne had been on holiday in South America with girlfriend Kate Cassidy (left)
They are also accusing the individual of being complicit in the supply of drugs, crimes which are punishable by a prison sentence of up to 15 years on conviction.
Although they have not identified the person, their description appears to indicate it was Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores who had accompanied Payne in the days before he died.
A source reportedly told The Sun: ‘There is a difference in the narrative, Roger would say he stepped back from working with Liam – others would say he was pushed.
‘Many people didn’t even know Liam and Roger had reconnected until his fateful trip to Argentina last month.
‘Due to the ongoing investigation in Argentina, he’s not welcome at this week’s service.’
Nores tonight declined to comment on the report.
But a close friend said: ‘Roger would not want to do anything to compound to the pain that Liam’s family are going through right now.’
Reports in Argentina claim Nores was one of three people charged by the Argentinian authorities in connection with the singer’s death.
But Roger has vigorously denied abandoning the former One Direction star in the hours leading to his death and refuted claims that his house had been raided by investigators.
Liam rose to fame with band One Direction. He is pictured with bandmates (left-right) Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik
Tributes and flowers are placed outside St. Peter’s collegiate church to remember former One Direction singer Liam Payne, in Wolverhampton
One Direction fans gather to pay tribute to Liam Payne, at the Monument of the Revolution, in Mexico City on October 17
In an emotional statement he told MailOnline: ‘I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel 3 times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened.
‘There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left.
‘I could have never imagined something like this would happen.
‘I’ve given my statement to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness and I haven’t spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since.
‘I wasn’t Liam’s manager he was just my very dear friend.
‘I’m really heart-broken with this tragedy, and I’ve been missing my friend every day.’