{"id":297136,"date":"2023-11-13T14:09:29","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T14:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=297136"},"modified":"2023-11-13T14:09:29","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T14:09:29","slug":"gary-lineker-and-prince-william-pay-respects-at-sir-bobby-charlton-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/soccer\/gary-lineker-and-prince-william-pay-respects-at-sir-bobby-charlton-funeral\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary Lineker and Prince William pay respects at Sir Bobby Charlton funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"

Premier League managers pay tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton<\/h3>\n

Prince William and\u00a0Gary Lineker are among the guests present to pay their respects at Sir Bobby Charlton\u2019s funeral in Manchester today (Monday). The Manchester United hero, who made 758 appearances for the Red Devils, died last month at the age of 86 following a battle with dementia and is being laid to rest\u00a0<\/b>at Manchester Cathedral.<\/p>\n

Lineker and a whole host of former footballers attended the funeral service, with iconic ex-United players Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney also in attendance. Prince William was at the ceremony as part of his role as president-designate of the FA, while FIFA chief Aleksander Ceferin and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham were also there.<\/p>\n

Legendary United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and current England boss Gareth Southgate attended too, as did four current United players – Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton. But Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag couldn\u2019t make it due to a \u201clong-standing personal commitment\u201d in the Netherlands that required him to leave England before the funeral.<\/p>\n

The cortege began its journey by passing Old Trafford and travelling through a guard of honour made up of current United youth team players and then paused at the United Trinity statue where Charlton, George Best and Dennis Law are immortalised. The procession then headed to Manchester Cathedral for the service at 2pm UK time.<\/p>\n

Express Sport provides live updates from the service below…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Old Trafford guard of honour<\/h3>\n

Thousands of fans gathered at Old Trafford where Sir Bobby Charlton’s cortege received a guard of honour formed by United academy players from their Under-18 and Under-21 teams.<\/p>\n

The cortege is passing the Holy Trinity statue which is a tribute to Charlton, George Best and Denis Law.<\/p>\n

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Guests starting to arrive<\/h3>\n

Guests have been arriving at the Manchester Cathedral ahead of the service, which is expected to begin at 2pm.<\/p>\n

Sir Alex Ferguson, pictured, is among them.<\/p>\n

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Sir Bobby Charlton guest list<\/h3>\n

Manchester United owners the Glazer family decided to stay away from Bobby Charlton\u2019s funeral today for fear their presence might become a distraction.<\/p>\n

The controversial owners are notable absentees along with manager Erik ten Hag who offered his apologies for being unable to be in Manchester due to an \u201cunbreakable and long-standing commitment in the Netherlands\u201d.<\/p>\n

But the owners\u2019 failure to be represented is understood to be in order not to create a distraction.<\/p>\n

The memorial service at Manchester Cathedral will be attended by Prince William, UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin and England manager Gareth Southgate.<\/p>\n

From United – Sir Alex Ferguson, David Gill, Martin Edwards, Ed Woodward and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as well as a host of ex-players are here today.<\/p>\n

Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton represent the current dressing room.<\/p>\n

Alex Stepney, Paddy Crerand, Brian Kidd, Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Wayne Rooney are among the former United greats in attendance.<\/p>\n

Mike Summerbee, Ian Callaghan and Alan Kennedy represent other north west clubs.<\/p>\n