Cathedral tribute for Sky Blues legend

A SERVICE celebrating the life of Coventry City legend Cyrille Regis is to be held at Coventry Cathedral.

The Bishop of Coventry has announced the service will take place on Sunday March 4 in the cathedral.

It will celebrate his life and legacy, both on the pitch and off it.

The service will start at 4pm, but there are no other details at this time.

Cyrille died after suffering a suspected heart attack at his home on January 14, aged 59.

There has been an outpouring of emotion since the announcement of Regis’s sudden death.

A private family funeral was held last Tuesday.

His widow Julia and the family then travelled to The Hawthorns where West Brom hosted a public service to celebrate the former England international’s life.

Regis was a pioneer after suffering racial abuse during his professional career, which started at Albion in 1977, and is credited with paving the way for a generation of black players.

Regis’ funeral cortege left The Hawthorns at 8.45am on Tuesday with the current Albion squad and manager Alan Pardew giving it a guard of honour.

Around 1,800 were at The Hawthorns for the pubic service where singer Beverley Knight sung Going Up Yonder.

Former Baggies team-mate Brendon Batson paid a personal tribute to the congregation.

Ron Atkinson, who managed Regis at Albion and Villa, said afterwards: “If I was picking my best every team he would always be my number nine. He was a great bloke, he was a phenomenal footballer but an even better bloke.”

Regis was also an agent with the Stellar group and chairman Jonathan Barnett paid his own tribute.

“He was a giant who did so much for football, so much for black people, and so much for humanity,” he said.