January 18, 2008

No silence to honour Munich crash

There will be no minute's silence during England's game with Switzerland on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash, the FA says.
England play Switzerland on 6 February, the date in which 23 people, including eight Manchester United players, died.

"The FA has liaised closely with Manchester United over appropriate arrangements," said an FA spokesman.

"Images of the players will be shown on the screens before the game and England players will wear black armbands."

He also strongly denied newspaper reports any other types of tribute had been scrapped because of worries about whether fans would respect them.

The game at Wembley against Switzerland will be new coach Fabio Capello's first game in charge of the England team.

Manchester United will mark the anniversary during their match with Manchester City on 10 February where there will be a minute's silence.

United will wear a special replica of their 1958 kit on the day, devoid of the players' names or shirt numbers on the back, while City's kit will incorporate a black ribbon with their sponsor's branding removed.