Dismay as yet another 1966 hero passes away without a knighthood

THE failure to award World Cup winner Jack Charlton a knighthood before his death was last night branded an ‘absolute disgrace’.

Pressure is now building for the much- loved former Leeds United defender and Republic of Ireland manager to be honoured posthumously.

His death on Friday, aged 85, following a year-long fight with cancer, means another hero from

England’s famous 1966 football team has passed away without receiving a knighthood.

Of the 11 players, only two – Geoff Hurst and Jack’s younger brother Bobby – received knighthoods. Sir Alf Ramsey, the manager, was knighted in 1967 in recognition of the World Cup win. But the failure to honour ‘Big Jack’ has long angered football fans and former players.

Ray Houghton, the former Liverpool midfielder who made his debut for Republic of Ireland in 1986 during Charlton’s first game in charge, yesterday led criticism of the failure to honour him during his lifetime.

‘The word legend is used too much in football but not for Jack. For what he’s done domestically with Leeds, winning the World Cup, which he should have been knighted for, I’ve still never understood that.

‘I think that’s an absolute disgrace and the fact that he did so well with Ireland,’ he said.

Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck, which includes Charlton’s hometown of Ashington, yesterday submitted an Early Day Motion calling on the Government to award a posthumous knighthood.

He tweeted: ‘Today I’ve submitted a Parliamentary Early Day Motion calling on the Government to award a posthumous knighthood to the legend that is Big Jack Charlton.

‘ We’ll be launching a petition very soon.’

There have been various calls over the years for the entire 1966 team to given the top honour. Bobby Charlton had to wait until 1994 before he was finally knighted and Geoff Hurst until 1998.

Despite being the team’s captain – and one of England’s greatest ever footballers – Bobby Moore was never knighted before his death in 1993. A campaign in 2016 for him to be knighted posthumously failed, despite the support of the then FA chairman Greg Dyke and a crossparty coalition of MPs.

Last year it was reported that goalkeeper Gordon Banks missed out on a knighthood because officials lost key paperwork.

Friends were sure he was due to be made a sir in the 2019 New Year Honours, but although nomination papers had been submitted two years earlier, it was claimed they were then mislaid in a blunder by the Government’s honours committee. Banks died in February 2019.

All the members of the team were awarded MBEs, although farcically, five ‘ forgotten’ players – Nobby Stiles, Alan Ball, Roger Hunt, Ray Wilson and George Cohen – did not receive theirs until 2000. Jack Charlton, Moore and Banks also received OBEs. In stark contrast to Britain’s failure to honour him, Charlton was awarded honorary Irish citizenship in 1996.

The honours system would have to be overhauled for Charlton to receive another award because the current rules ban the awarding of knighthoods posthumously.

Earlier this year, former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said: ‘That England squad never got the recognition they deserved.

‘It was years before Geoff Hurst got his knighthood. Bobby Moore should have had a knighthood and never did.

‘It was years before some in the team were honoured.’