MODEL Jordan was left on the bench yesterday when the stars came out to play for charity.

She had been due to join celebrities at Newcastle United's St James's Park for the annual Soccer Six celebrity tournament.

But after a night out in Newcastle, Jordan arrived four hours late at the ground, where the 6,000 crowd were waiting.

She told reporters she would not be playing because she was suffering from flu, blaming the Newcastle air for making her feel worse.

Coughing into the sleeve of her red strip, she said: "I was not even going to come, but I didn't want to let anyone down."

She denied claims she had met Dwight Yorke in a nightclub.

Her team, Six Chicks, made up of glamour models, got to the final without her while Jordan spent the match on the bench.

The annual charity event attracts some of the biggest names in the music business, television and sport.

This year, more than 160 celebrities took part in the 12 men's and four women's teams, including Blue, Liberty X, Jordan, Ivana Horvat, Gary Lucy, Michael Greco, Dane Bowers and stars from Hollyoaks, Brookside and Holby City. They were joined on the Tyneside turf by former footballing favourites such as Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle, Frank McAvennie and John Barnes.

The chosen charity for 2003 is the Prince's Trust and the event will also be staged at Liverpool's Anfield ground on Saturday, and Upton Park, the home of West Ham, on Sunday, May 18.