England honour Gordon Banks at sold-out Wembley before European Qualifier vs Czech Republic
Friday 22 March 2019 20:30, UK
England paid tribute to their World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks ahead of the European Qualifier against Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium on Friday.
Banks, who died at the age of 81 in February, was honoured by a series of tributes in front of a sell-out crowd at the national stadium - the scene of England's World Cup triumph in 1966.
A period of appreciation was held ahead of England's first game since Banks passed away, also in tribute to the victims of the Christchurch shooting victims last Friday, and England's players wore black armbands in his memory.
A giant banner depicting his yellow World Cup '1' shirt was passed above the heads of supporters around the crowd before the game.
Members of the Banks family attended the game in the Royal Box along with representatives from his former club Stoke, whose goalkeeper Jack Butland was a substitute, while other surviving members of the 1966 World Cup winning squad were invited.
Words from former Stoke team-mate Denis Smith formed part of an FA tribute in the match programme and Banks featured prominently on Wembley's giant screens, while tributes were also visible on the pitch-side LED advertising boards.
The FA will also make a donation to The Gordon Banks in Safe Hands Children's Hospital Fund and Alzheimer's UK.
Pele last month offered an emotional tribute to a "goalkeeper with magic" in Banks, who made a remarkable save to deny the Brazil legend at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
Fellow England World Cup winners Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst also led tributes to their former team-mate and joined football icons and thousands of people to celebrate the life of Banks at his funeral at Stoke Minster earlier this month.
