‘Role model’ Regis given PFA honour

CYRILLE Regis’ contribution to the game has been recognised with a posthumous Merit award from the Professional Footballers’ Association.

The former Coventry striker died of a heart attack in January aged just 59 and his death prompted an avalanche of tributes.

His goalscoring prowess earned him five England caps, and helped Coventry win the FA Cup in 1987, but Regis is perhaps best known now as a pioneer for black players at a time when racist attitudes were common in British football and society.

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said: “He was a great footballer, a true gentleman and a role model and mentor for black players.

“You could tell how much he meant to people from the reaction to his death and we just felt it was right to honour him and his family in this way.

“Football has come a long way in terms of equality on the pitch – it is a very cosmopolitan game now – but we know we have more to do off the pitch and you only have to look at the newspapers with stories about Stephen Lawrence and Windrush migrants to see how relevant Cyrille’s story still is.

“I think it was Ian Wright who described Cyrille as football’s Martin Luther King and there is no doubt that he made a huge contribution to making football more diverse.”

Taylor added that Regis was also the first black player to receive an individual PFA award when he was named Young Player of the Year in 1979, which was Taylor’s first PFA awards ceremony after retiring as a player and going to work for the union.

Previous recipients of the Merit award, which is given to those who make a special contribution to English football, include David Beckham, Sir Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Hill.

Regis’ award was collected at the ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House by his widow Julia, son Dave, who also played professional football, daughter Michelle and granddaughter Jayda.

As well as his FA Cup-winning stint with Coventry, Regis also played for West Brom, Aston Villa, Wolves, Wycombe and Chester and only retired after 21 years in the game, and 205 goals, in 1996.