Ceremony for the Busby Babes
UNITED held a ceremony in Belgrade to remember the victims of the 1958 Munich air disaster.
The Busby Babes played their final game in the city against Red Star in a European Cup quarterfinal second leg on February 5, the day before their plane crashed in Germany.
United legend Bryan Robson and club ambassador Mickey Thomas laid a wreath at the Partizan Stadium before a minute’s silence was held to remember the 23 people who were killed as a result of the tragedy.
United were represented by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, club secretary Rebecca Britain, chief financial officer Cliff Baty, director of communications
Charlie Brooks and director of football operations Alan Dawson.
Representatives from the Manchester Munich Memorial Foundation and the UK ambassador to Serbia, Sian Macleod, were also in attendance.
Woodward said: “It was incredibly important to come here and mark the occasion. As soon as the draw happened, our attention turned to wanting to remember those who lost their lives in 1958.
“This was the last place, on this very ground, against Red Star Belgrade, when they played as a team together before they got on that fateful plane to stop over in Munich and tragedy struck.
“So for us as a club, there is a game but for us the trip is also important for remembering those who lost their lives and paying respects, which we have just done by laying the wreath.”
Robson added: “You can feel the emotion. When you have been at the club for as long as we have, you get that history and you have met a lot of the families who have lost people in the Munich Air Disaster.”