- Sir Jim Ratcliffe attended Man United’s memorial service in Munich
- He was joined at Old Trafford by Sir Dave Brailsford and Sir Alex Ferguson
- IAN LADYMAN picks his top five centre-backs of all time in the Premier League – It all starts podcast
Sir Jim Ratcliffe attended Munich’s memorial service at Old Trafford on Tuesday as Manchester United remembered the victims on the 66th anniversary of the tragedy.
It is the first time Ratcliffe has been part of the poignant ceremony since investing £1.3 billion in his boyhood club.
The Ineos owner was joined by his sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford and Sir Alex Ferguson under the memorial plaque in Munich at 2.40pm.
United manager Erik ten Hag and captain Bruno Fernandes were also present, along with women’s team boss Marc Skinner and skipper Katie Zelem.
Paddy Crerand and Brian Kidd, two members of the team that won the European Cup under Sir Matt Busby in 1968, ten years after the disaster, were also present.
Manchester United investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe (L) attended the Munich Air Disaster memorial service on Tuesday, accompanied by sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford (R)
The service was held at Old Trafford in memory of the 23 people who died in the 66th anniversary tragedy. Pictured: Fans pay tribute during their team’s match against West Ham
Ratcliffe was also joined at the memorial service by legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag appeared alongside captain Bruno Fernandes
Your browser does not support iframes.
Eight of the Busby Babes and three members of staff were among the 23 people killed as a result of the crash on February 6, 1958 when the plane carrying United back from a European Cup quarter-final against Red Star Belgrade made a third attempt to take off after refueling at Munich Airport.
Memorial services will take place in Manchester and Munich. The ceremony at Old Trafford will be led by fan group München58, while a similar service at Manchesterplatz – near the crash site in Germany – will be organized by the Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation.
Mike Phelan, the former United player who was also assistant manager to Ferguson and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, will represent the club at Manchesterplatz after laying a wreath at Frank Beckenbauer’s grave earlier in the day. The Germany and Bayern Munich legend passed away last month at the age of 78.
A separate service was also held in Munich at Manchesterplatz – near the crash site in Germany
Former Man United assistant Mike Phelan was the club’s representative in Munich – alongside ex-Bayern Munich player Franz Roth after leaving a wreath at Franz Beckenbauer’s grave
Former United chaplain Reverend John Boyers led the service at Old Trafford, which included poems, songs and readings, before a two-minute silence at 3.04pm, marking the exact time of the crash.
The Munich service followed a similar sequence, with wreaths placed on behalf of the club, the Association of Former Manchester United Players and the fans.
The two minutes of silence were followed by the traditional singing of The Flowers of Manchester.
The club’s delegation included eight participants from the Manchester United Foundation’s Street Reds community football projects. One of the eight young people laid a wreath and another read a poem.