Cyrille Regis funeral: Emotional tributes to footballing trailblazer

Footballers past and present have paid their respects to former England forward Cyrille Regis at the club where he made his name.

An emotional memorial service at West Bromwich Albion’s stadium, The Hawthorns, was attended on Tuesday by Regis’ ex-teammates and 1,800 fans.

Those in attendance included former manager Ron Atkinson, who Regis played under at West Brom.

Atkinson picked the forward alongside fellow members of the ‘Three Degrees’ – the nickname for the club’s trio of black players in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson faced hostile football crowds at a time when racism was rife in the English game.

They were heralded as trailblazers for a subsequent generation of black and ethnic minority footballers.

Speaking at Tuesday’s service from a stage erected in The Hawthorns’ East Stand, Batson said: “We played at a time when black players had to endure much vile racist abuse.

“Yet Cyrille never lost his cool, nor was he ever intimidated. He always said that it motivated him to play even better.”

Regis’ former Coventry manager John Sillett, and Jonathan Barnett, the football agent for who Regis worked in later life, also delivered tributes.

Regis’ wife Julia, brother Dave, daughter Michelle, son Robert, and his nephew, the former West Brom striker Jason Roberts, were among family members to speak at the service.

Fans paid tribute with chants of “Nice one Cyrille, nice one son”, and “There’s only one Cyrille Regis”.

The service began with the playing of Bring Him Home from Les Miserables, before prayers and the singing of West Brom’s club anthem, The Lord’s My Shepherd.

English soul singer Beverley Knight performed Going Up Yonder.

Ex-footballers Carlton Palmer, Les Ferdinand, Chris Hughton, Steve Bull, Dwight Yorke and John Barnes were among those to gather in the stands.

Brighton boss Hughton, currently the only black manager in the Premier League, said: “Cyrille played in an era, the same era as me, where it was very difficult for black players.

“As eras go on, the modern day player who does not have to experience what Cyrille went through, can reflect on what he went through and the legacy he left behind.”

Posting on Twitter on Tuesday, Labour MP David Lammy wrote: “Cyrille Regis was an icon, a trailblazer and a hero in my household growing up.

“So many footballers of colour have stood on his shoulders. What a legacy and what a hero. Rest in peace.”

Regis died suddenly following a heart attack at the age of 59 on 14 January, leaving his wife Julia – who he married in 2006 – his children from his first marriage, Robert and Michelle, and his three grandchildren, Jayda, Renee and Riley.

He was awarded an MBE in 2008 for his charity work and services to football, following a playing career with West Brom, Coventry City, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wycombe Wanderers and Chester City.

Regis became just the third black player to win a full England cap, playing for the national side five times in total, when he was picked against Northern Ireland in February 1982.

The selection saw Regis sent a bullet through the post.

The memorial service followed a private family funeral, ahead of which West Brom’s current squad, staff and supporters gathered to bid farewell to Regis’ funeral cortege from The Hawthorns.

(c) Sky News 2018: Cyrille Regis funeral: Emotional tributes to footballing trailblazer