Yesterday before the Brighton home game the whole West Ham family of players and supporters came together to pay tribute to young Oscar Fairs with a sombre and emotional pre-match ceremony and a minutes’ applause before kick off.
Oscar’s family – parents Natalie and Russell and brother Harry were in attendance as wreaths were laid on the centre spot. Team mates from Oscar’s Under 15 side also took part in the ceremony as the whole squad wore ‘one of our own’ training tops.
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At that early stage I was just listening on the radio – the sound of that one minutes’ applause raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Quite what his family are going through we cannot begin to imagine but it seemed that the groundswell of emotion from those on the pitch and around the ground showed genuine compassion.
Football becomes insignificant when tragedy like this affects young families. First and foremost our thoughts are with Oscar’s family and his friends at this terrible time.