Football bids farewell to Cyrille Regis
West Bromwich Albion and the footballing community paid tribute to Cyrille Regis at an emotional memorial service at The Hawthorns.
The former Albion, Coventry, Aston Villa and Wolves striker died suddenly aged 59 earlier this month and had a private family funeral on Tuesday morning.
The Baggies then held a public service for the ex-England international and footballing pioneer, who is recognised as paving the way for a generation of black players.
Carlton Palmer, Ron Atkinson, Les Ferdinand, Chris Hughton, Steve Bull and Brendon Batson all came to pay their respects with 1800 fans in attendance.
‘Bring Him Home’ from ‘Les Miserables’ was sung by Chris Love to open the service, with club anthem ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’ also played.
Earlier, more than 400 West Bromwich fans, staff and players turned out at the stadium to bid a fond farewell to the former England and Baggies striker.
Regis, who scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for WBA, died suddenly on January 14, aged 59.
His funeral cortege was greeted with applause as it arrived at the club’s ground and manager Alan Pardew, captain Jonny Evans and goalkeeper Ben Foster were there to pay their respects.