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ED SHEERAN ANNOUNCED AS SHIRT SPONSOR FOR IPSWICH TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB

Ed Sheeran has been announced as the new shirt sponsor for Ipswich Town football club.

The singer grew up in Framlingham in Suffolk, which is just outside Ipswich, supporting the team and still lives nearby.

He has agreed an initial one-year deal with Blues to sponsor shirts for the club’s men’s and women’s first teams.

He said: “The football club is a big part of the local community and this is my way of showing my support.

“I have always enjoyed my trips to Portman Road and I’m looking forward to going back there as soon as supporters are allowed into stadiums again.

“With the new owners from the US coming in, there are sure to be exciting times ahead for Ipswich fans, including myself. Hopefully we can stop being sloightly on the huh!”

Gamechanger 20 Ltd (GC20) bought out former owner Marcus Evans earlier this month and hopes to turn around the fate of the struggling Sky Bet League One club.

New co-owner Mark Detmer has said the opportunity to “wake a sleeping giant” was one of the major draws for them at Portman Road.

The shirts will feature mathematical symbols (plus, minus, equals, divide, multiply) and the word TOUR, seemingly a reference to some of his albums.

Asked about the meaning of the logo, Sheeran said: “All will be revealed in time.”

The musician, who welcomed his first child with wife Cherry last August, shared the news on Instagram, posting a childhood photo of himself in an Ipswich Town shirt.

He wrote: “This bloke is the new sponsor of @ipswichtown football club. Do well.”

Rosie Richardson, director of sales at Ipswich Town, said: “We are obviously thrilled that Ed has agreed to become our shirt sponsor next season.

“I have worked with Ed and his management team on various initiatives over the years and welcomed Ed and his guests to Portman Road for many games.

“He has shown his support for his hometown in lots of ways and this is another example of that.

“We look forward to seeing Ed – and every other supporter – back at Portman Road next season.”

Pre-orders for the new home shirt are expected to start from early June.

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CAVANI BAGS BRACE AS MAN UNITED REACH EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL

Manchester United are through to their first final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with Edinson Cavani scoring twice in a second-leg defeat to Roma that could not deny them a place in the Europa League showpiece.

Having fallen at the semi-final stage on four occasions across the last two seasons, the Red Devils made it fifth time lucky to set-up a shot at glory against Villarreal in Poland on May 26th.

Last week’s 6-2 victory at Old Trafford meant United already had one foot in the Gdansk finale ahead of the trip to Italy, where Roma made things uncomfortable and won an entertaining semi-final second leg 3-2.

Cavani was the star of the 8-5 aggregate triumph as he followed his first-leg brace with another pair in the eternal city, where he fired the visitors into a first-half lead from a fine Bruno Fernandes pass.

But David De Gea was the standout performer at the Stadio Olimpico, producing fine early saves and then some outstanding stops as United wobbled following quickfire Edin Dzeko and Bryan Cristante efforts.

Cavani rose to head United back level on the night from another superb Fernandes ball, but Roma gave it their all days after it was confirmed that Paulo Fonseca would be succeeded by Solskjaer’s predecessor Jose Mourinho.

Teenage debutant Nicola Zalewski fired home a deflected late effort to seal the spirited hosts a second-leg victory, but it is the Red Devils heading to Poland for a shot at their first trophy since winning the competition in 2017.

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Chelsea beat Madrid to set up all-English Champions League final vs Man City

Chelsea even made record 13-time European Cup champion Real Madrid look ordinary as goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount sealed a 2-0 victory that ousted Madrid 3-1 on aggregate.

Chelsea’s decision to fire a club legend suddenly doesn’t seem so callous after all.

While Frank Lampard’s name has hardly been forgotten by the Chelsea fans there were chants outside Stamford Bridge before kickoff on Wednesday new manager Thomas Tuchel is quickly creating his own legacy after leading the London club into the Champions League final against Manchester City.

Chelsea even made record 13-time European Cup champion Real Madrid look ordinary as goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount sealed a 2-0 victory that ousted Madrid 3-1 on aggregate.

Perhaps the stragglers leaving the bars near Stamford Bridge could hear the roar Tuchel let out on the field inside the empty stadium long after his players had departed the field. It will certainly have been heard in the Chelsea boardroom by the directors whose decision to dismiss Lampard in January and hire Tuchel now seems vindicated.

“I am very grateful and thankful to have this opportunity,” said Tuchel, who’d been dismissed by Paris Saint-Germain in December despite leading the French club to last year’s Champions League final. “You can never be ahead of plan as a manager and as a player — it does not exist.”

Just like when owner Roman Abramovich made mid-season managerial changes in the 2007-08 and 2011-12 seasons, Chelsea will end the campaign by contesting the biggest game in European football. And by the end of the month two Champions League trophies could be at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea the first club to reach the men’s and women’s finals in the same season.

Even though the men’s showpiece will be an all-English encounter on May 29, the Premier League rivals will have to fly four hours to play the UEFA showpiece in Istanbul, which is currently in a coronavirus lockdown. While City has never lifted the European Cup, Chelsea’s only triumph came in 2012 when the 22-year-old Mount was in the youth system.

“It’s going to be a stunning game,” Mount said.

Unlike last season’s final — when Tuchel’s PSG lost to Bayern Munich — fans are set to be allowed in. Chelsea supporters have yet to see Tuchel managing their team in the flesh due to England’s ongoing coronavirus restrictions. But they can’t deny the impact he has made.

Chelsea was five points outside the four Champions League qualification places when he was hired, but heads into the final four games of the Premier League season in fourth place with a three-point cushion. There’s a chance to pick up a trophy before the trip to Turkey, too, with an FA Cup final against Leicester on May 15 after beating City in the semifinals.

Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is left to focus on trying on wiping out Atletico Madrid’s two-point lead in Spain to win La Liga, rather than adding to the three Champions League titles he won from 2016 to 2018.

“I think we tried, but the truth is today Chelsea were superior and we have to congratulate them,” Zidane said. “It was complicated throughout the match because they had many chances to score more goals and they deserved their victory.”

After conceding a costly away goal last week, Madrid lacked the attacking nous or threat to turn this semifinal around as Chelsea kept an 18th clean sheet in 24 games under Tuchel.

Karim Benzema was denied by the first in a series of fine saves by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy before Werner’s opener but the visitors were sluggish, lacking a creative spark from Eden Hazard on an ineffective return to his former home.

Even in a debut season of misfortune, not even Werner could miss in the 28th minute when presented with an unguarded net to head into from close range after Kai Havertz had lobbed former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and hit the crossbar.

“I had to wait a long time for the ball coming down — it felt like hours,” Werner said.

The chants of “Timo” from the substitutes’ bench reflected the delight from his teammates that the Germany forward had scored only his fourth goal in 35 games for Chelsea. For all the scrutiny faced, though, Werner has still managed 12 goals and 10 assists since last year costing Chelsea up to $68 million.

For all Chelsea’s threat, Madrid only needed to score once to force the second leg into extra time. When the second half opened with Havertz heading against the crossbar and having a low shot saved it looked like the misses could prove costly.

“Keep on pushing guys,” Tuchel urged from the sideline.

And so they did, helped by the arrival of Christian Pulisic from the bench as Werner’s replacement to spark the second goal. The American headed to N’Golo Kante and received the ball back to feed Mount, who lifted a shot over Courtois in the 85th.

“I have to go on and do my bit,” Pulisic sad, “be creative and try to finish the game off strong and luckily I was able to do that.”

Not that Pulisic was satisfied waiting more than an hour to enter the game.

“Very frustrated — I wanted to play from the beginning, as I always do,” said the forward signed in 2019 from Borussia Dortmund. I’ve had to continue to prove myself over and over again. … Nothing can stop me, really.”

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JIM BEGLIN APOLOGISES FOR “RACIAL STEREOTYPE” DURING DI MARIA INCIDENT IN MANCITY VS PSG GAME

Jim Beglin has issued an apology for using “a racial stereotype” in commentary during Manchester City’s Champions League semi-final win over Paris Saint-Germain. The former Liverpool defender was on co-commentary duty for American broadcaster CBS for Tuesday night’s second leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Two goals from Riyad Mahrez sent City into their first Champions League final as a 2-0 win on the night gave Pep Guardiola’s side a 4-1 victory on aggregate.

It was a dominant performance for City who kept Neymar quiet throughout and ensured goalkeeper Ederson did not face a single shot on target.

While the night was one of celebration for City, the second half was also notable for the number of incidents, with referee Bjorn Kuipers handing out six yellows and one red card in a fractious match.

That red was issued to PSG attacking midfielder Angel Di Maria, who lashed out at Fernandinho while trying to retrieve the ball for a throw-in.

The former Manchester United man kicked the Brazilian in the shin on the touchline and was sent off in the 69th minute as the discipline of Mauricio Pochettino’s side slipped.

Describing the incident on commentary, Beglin said, “It’s that Latino temperament.”

Social media immediately lit up with people questioning his comments and the 57-year-old quickly apologised on air.

“When Di Maria was sent off, I described it by using the word Latino,” he said. “For anybody that’s taken offense, I do apologise, sincerely apologise.”

After the match had finished, Beglin took to Twitter to make a full apology.

“I apologise for my culturally insensitive remarks during the Champions League tie between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain,” he wrote.

“I wrongly used a racial stereotype. This was inappropriate and unacceptable. Words have a strong impact, and I fully understand the severity of what I said when Angel Di Maria was sent off.

I will learn from this and be better moving forward.”

CBS has not yet commented on Beglin’s remarks.

In his post-match interview with BT Sport, Mahrez commented on PSG’s loss of discipline in the second half.

“It was a very good game,” he said.

“We didn’t start well again. We didn’t have a good first half but we got the goal and we were more comfortable.

“We played well in the second half and we could have scored more. They lost their nerve and started to kick us and after the red card it was more comfortable.”

As well as Di Maria’s red card, Ander Herrera, Marco Verratti, Presnel Kimpembe and substitute Danilo were all booked for the away side.

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AVRAM GLAZER REFUSES TO APOLOGISE TO MANCHESTER UNITED FANS AFTER OLD TRAFFORD PROTREST

Manchester United co-chairman Avram Glazer refused to apologise to supporters after the club’s failed plans to join the European Super League. The club’s American owners are under fire from supporters after United were one of six English teams to agree to join a breakaway competition from the Champions League.

The Glazers bought United in 2005 for around £780m and in the process United went from debt-free to one of the most in-debt clubs overnight, with the Americans putting around £550m of debt onto the club. United have been paying high interest repayments on the Glazers’ acquisition ever since and remain around £460m in debt.

Though the Glazers have ‘invested’ around £1bn in transfers in the last eight years, they have taken £1.1bn out of the club during their sixteen years as owners, while the club remains in heavy debt.

It was the club’s attempt to join the European Super League that reignited supporters’ dismay at the Americans’ ownership of the club, though supporters have largely been against their presence since 2005.

It led to protests at Old Trafford on Sunday, which led to the postponement of the Premier League clash against Liverpool. United supporters are desperate for the Glazers to sell up but the Florida-based company reportedly have no desire to do so.

Joel Glazer released a lengthy statement after the club’s withdrawal from the European Super League to apologise to supporters but there has been no sign of the family doing so in public.

Joel’s brother Avram, who is co-chairman of the club and resides in Florida, was given the chance to when Sky News repeatedly offered the American the opportunity to apologise to supporters when they caught up with him on Tuesday. But, as has been the case since the family took charge 16 years ago, Avram chose not to speak to supporters and in doing so refused to apologise for the club’s plans to join the European Super League.

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PSG players claim referee swore at them in Man City defeat

French champions PSG were left angered by the referee, who sent off PSG’s Angel Di Maria in the 69th minute for an off-the-ball stamp on Fernandinho.

Paris St Germain’s Leandro Paredes was verbally abused by Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers during Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg loss to Manchester City, his team mate Ander Herrera has claimed.

City reached the final of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time thanks to a 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium to secure a 4-1 aggregate win.

French champions PSG were left angered by the referee, who sent off PSG’s Angel Di Maria in the 69th minute for an off-the-ball stamp on Fernandinho.

“We talk about respect towards referees,” midfielder Herrera told French multimedia outlet RMC Sport, while revealing that the official had sworn at Paredes. “If we say that, we get a three or four-match ban.”

Herrera’s team mate Marco Verratti said in his post-match interview that he too was abused by the official.

PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino told reporters he believed his players and that European soccer’s governing body UEFA could investigate the incident.”I didn’t hear anything from the touchline, if something is there and is how they explained, maybe UEFA will investigate the situation,” Pochettino said.

“But now that’s not an excuse I can put in front of you… the most important thing is we’re not in the final and that’s why we feel really sad.”

Meanwhile, CBS colour commentator Jim Beglin apologised for attributing Argentine Di Maria’s dismissal during the game to his “Latino temperament.”

“I apologise for my culturally insensitive remarks… I wrongly used a racial stereotype. This was inappropriate and unacceptable,” Beglin tweeted.”Words have a strong impact and I fully understand the severity of what I said when Di Maria was sent off. I’ll learn from this and be better moving forward.”

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Riyad Mahrez showing up when Manchester City need him most

Algerian is flying under the radar, wrecking defences like he did against PSG in the second leg of the semis

A Manchester City break came in the 62nd minute. It wasn’t the quickest counterattack, as a good number of Paris Saint Germain players tracked back at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. Phil Foden carried the ball down the left, squaring to Kevin De Bruyne under pressure. The Belgian returned it to Foden who was well on his way into the PSG box after a moment. On the other side of the pitch, Riyad Mahrez darted forward unmarked by anybody in a Parisian jersey. Once Foden drilled a low cross Mahrez was there, happily slotting home his and City’s second in the Champions League second leg semi-final. City would go on to win 4-1 on aggregate.

In many ways, that undetected run represents Mahrez’s career. A crafty left-footer, blessed with speed and the ability to dribble at break-neck pace, tends to fly under the radar – especially in a star-studded line-up. Thriving in his low-key role, it’s helped him become one of the most devastating players in front of goal.

The 30-year-old France-born Algerian scored three goals over the two semi-final legs for his club. And it helped take City to its first ever Champions League final.

Low-profile match winner

When Mahrez was at Leicester City, his star was overshadowed by Jamie Vardy. Even in that historic 2015-16 Premier League winning season, where Mahrez scored 17 times and made 11 assists, Vardy’s 24 goals – including a Premier League record of scoring in 11 consecutive matches – eclipsed the Algerian.

At Manchester City, who dished out GBP 60 million to secure his services – making him then the most expensive African footballer – Mahrez is still not the first name that comes to mind. There is De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero (for whom this is the final season), and even the new star Foden.
Under the radar, yet still a vital cog in his side. That’s also how he was first noticed by the bigger names in Europe.

Unspectacular Beginnings

Born in Sarcelles, a poor commune in Northern Paris, to an Algerian father and Moroccan mother, Mahrez was a self-taught street footballer.

The silky skills though weren’t enough for him, at 18, to find a place in fourth division team Quimper. What he had in skill, for the scouts, was not enough for what he lacked in physicality. The team’s manager eventually had his way and forced the directors to sign the player.

A few years later, while playing in the French Ligue 2 with Le Havre, he first came into contact with then Championship club (second division) Leicester City – who he first thought was a rugby team. Incidentally, the English scouts had not travelled to France to look at him, but were rather there to spy on his teammate Ryan Mendes. But Mahrez captured their imagination.

“Riyad was a bit raw but he had a great touch,” Steve Walsh, the club’s head of recruitment told the Daily Mail. “He could kill the ball dead and go past people. I liked his positivity. Some of his decision-making wasn’t that great and defensively he wasn’t the best, but you could see that he had real talent.”

He moved to Leicester in early 2014 following a GBP 450,000 transfer, helping them gain promotion to the Premier League before moving to Manchester City in 2018.

Unwavering self-belief

Slight frame notwithstanding, his flair, eye for goal and a killer pass could not be undervalued. Nor could his spirit be broken.

“How did I prove them wrong? Just with my ability, my quality,” he described his mentality to Four-Four Two. “They would say those things, then we’d play a game, I’d play well and they’d change their opinion. I used to play a lot in (Paris) and it helped me.”

He scored 17 goals, including a hat-trick against Swansea City to help the Foxes win the Premier League title. This season he’s scored 15 goals in all competitions, including four in the Champions League.

Improved defensive skills

Under Nigel Pearson, who managed Leicester while they were in the English Championship, he gained confidence and experience. Under Claudio Ranieri, he was allowed to use his fleet-footed skills at will to wreak havoc of defences.
Under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, he’s become aware of his defensive role. In the second leg against PSG, he made four tackles and interceptions in the first half alone.

Raking up the titles

So far Mahrez has won three Premier League titles (including in the on-going season). He helped Algeria win the 2019 African Cup of Nations title, its first since 1990 and second overall.

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Manchester City ousts PSG to reach first Champions League final

Riyad Mahrez has scored twice to complete Manchester City’s journey to a first Champions League final with a 2-0 victory eliminating Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 on aggregate.

By the time Riyad Mahrez completed the counterattack that sealed Manchester City’s spot in a first Champions League final, it looked so effortless overcoming a Paris Saint-Germain lineup that lost its cool and composure.

“Then they lost their nerve and started to kick us and it was good,” Mahrez said.

It was the Paris-born winger who netted twice before PSG had Angel Di Maria sent off. City won 2-0 to eliminate last season’s finalists 4-1 on aggregate on Tuesday.

“They had the red card,” Mahrez said, “and after, it was more comfortable for us.”

It’s been anything but comfortable for City getting a shot at lifting European football’s top prize for the first time despite 13 years of lavish investment. Even reaching this semifinal required a fight in court to overturn a ban from this season’s Champions League for breaching UEFA’s financial rules.

And it’s only two weeks since the Abu Dhabi-owned team exposed itself to fresh sanctions for joining a brief, ill-fated bid to split to help form a breakaway European Super League.

Now City could win the competition it tried to leave in what could be an all-English final on May 29 in Istanbul if Chelsea overcomes Real Madrid on Wednesday. Chelsea and Madrid played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

“Of course, we’ve invested money in the last decade since Sheikh Mansour took over the club, but it’s not just about this,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “If you want to think it’s just about money, it’s OK. But there is a lot of incredible things behind the scenes.”

It’s not just City that’s endured frustration in its quest to win the biggest prize in European football. Guardiola, a Champions League winner as Barcelona coach in 2009 and 2011, has been waiting a decade to return to the final. He fell short three times with Bayern Munich and has taken until his fifth season at City to even reach the semifinals.

“To reach the Champions league final is so difficult,” Guardiola said. “It’s the toughest one, but we did it.”

City is now accustomed to success _ sitting on the brink of its third Premier League title in four seasons after already collecting the League Cup last month. But its only continental title came with the now-defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970.

“This club needed the final, these players needed the final,” City defender Kyle Walker said. “For these players to not be in a Champions League final is a disappointment every year.”

PSG missed out on a second shot at lifting a first European Cup after losing last season’s final to Bayern Munich, and Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup is even struggling to defend the French title.

“Disappointed and very sad,” said Pochettino, who lost the 2019 Champions League final as Tottenham manager. “We played well but we didn’t have the luck that you need in football.”

And in the clash of European football’s Gulf-funded big-spenders, it was the Qatari visitors from Paris on the backfoot quickly in Manchester.

After scoring City’s winner in Paris last week, Mahrez took only 11 minutes to score in the second leg. The move began with a long ball by defender Oleksandr Zinchenko running onto a long ball from goalkeeper Ederson.

“It’s something we work on all the time,” Mahrez said, “and today it worked good.”

Zinchenko passed to Kevin De Bruyne, whose shot was blocked by Keylor Navas but Mahrez was alert to the rebound to put the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs on a field covered in the remnants of a spring hailstorm.

Mauro Icardi was proving ineffective in a PSG attack shorn of Kylian Mbappe, who wasn’t fit enough to start and never entrusted with being deployed from the bench.

There were headers over from Marquinhos and Neymar but PSG could find no way past a defense that had Ruben Dias proving such a robust barrier.

The PSG back-line was easier to breach, which happened again in the 63rd minute. There was a surging run down the left flank by Phil Foden before a combination with De Bruyne and a cross delivered for Mahrez to sweep into the net.

“We fought to the end,” PSG midfielder Marco Verratti said. “When you play against big teams, it’s impossible to attack for 90 minutes without suffering. We have to accept that.”

The frustrations of PSG were clear, even without any crowd to create any intimidating atmosphere. The visitors finished the game with 10 men just like in the first leg after Di Maria was sent off with 20 minutes to go for kicking at Fernandinho.

PSG turned on the referee, with midfielder Ander Herrera in a post-match interview accusing Bjorn Kuipers of directing an expletive at PSG teammate Leandro Paredes. It wasn’t heard by Pochettino.

“Maybe UEFA will investigate the situation,“ he said. “But now I think that is not an excuse.”

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VETERAN MARTINEZ PART OF BAYERN CLEAR-OUT

Bayern Munich confirmed Tuesday that veteran Spanish midfielder Javi Martinez will be the third member of their treble-winning squad to leave the club world champions at the end of the season, along with head coach Hansi Flick.

Martinez joined in 2012 from Athletic Bilbao for a then-club record of 40 million euros ($48 million), winning the Bundesliga in all eight seasons he has so far completed in Germany.

Bayern, and Martinez, are on the brink of winning a ninth straight league title this Saturday.

The Spain international was also part of the Bayern squads which won the treble of Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League titles in 2013 and 2020.

Headed goals by Martinez helped Bayern win the UEFA Super Cup in both 2013, against Chelsea in Prague, and again in 2020, against Sevilla in Budapest.

“I’m very proud and happy to have been part of the FC Bayern family for nine years… and am very happy about the many titles we won together,” said Martinez in a statement.

He joins defenders Jerome Boateng and David Alaba who are also out of contract at the end of the season, while Flick has asked to be released.

RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann has already been named as Flick’s replacement for 2021/22.

Alaba, 28, is reportedly set to join Real Madrid after failing to agree to a contract extension with Bayern, while Martinez and Boateng, both 32, have not been offered new deals.

Like Martinez, Alaba and Boateng were key members of the Bayern squads which twice won the treble.

“At the end of this season Martinez, Alaba, Boateng and Flick will be given a fitting farewell by FC Bayern in recognition of their great achievements for the club,” Bayern said in a statement.

Martinez has made 266 appearances for Bayern, but this season he has started only four Bundesliga games and one Champions League match with Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich preferred in midfield.

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IRELAND MIDFIELDER ALAN MCLOUGHLIN DIES AT 54

Former Republic of Ireland footballer Alan McLoughlin has died with cancer, aged 54.

As The Irish Times reports, McLoughlin earned 42 international caps during the 1990s, scoring a crucial goal at Windsor Park which helped Ireland qualify for the 1994 World Cup.

He started as a trainee at Manchester United, before spells with Swindon Town and Portsmouth among other clubs.

In a statement, The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said: “We extend our deepest sympathies to Debbie, Abby and Megan McLoughlin following the death today of our former international midfielder Alan McLoughlin at the age of 54.

“Alan had bravely faced into a second battle with cancer in recent months with his courage in adversity an example to all those who knew him and loved him.”

FAI President Gerry McAnaney said: “Alan will always be remembered for that goal in Belfast 18 years ago, a goal that brought the entire country to its feet.

“He was a great player for Ireland, a fantastic footballing man who coached so many young players and a very proud family man.”

He said they were lucky to have him a part of the Irish football family and added “I know I speak on behalf of everyone involved with Irish football when I sympathise with Debbie and his family at this most difficult of times.”