An iconic Manchester United legend has revealed he was forced to stay silent after receiving a gong in the King's Birthday Honours
Former Town boss Lou Macari, inside the bet365 Stadium - home of Stoke City FC, getting ready for his 'Big Sleep Out'
Macari set up a homeless charity in 2016(Image: Daily Mirror)
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A Manchester United legend honoured by King Charles has admitted he was sworn to secrecy after being informed about the prestigious award. Former United and Scotland stalwart Lou Macari was handed an MBE in last week’s King’s Birthday Honours for services to football and homeless people in Stoke-on-Trent.
Edinburgh-born Macari moved to the area after managing Stoke City during two separate spells in the 1990s but became increasingly angered by the number of people he could see sleeping rough. That drove him to set up the Macari Foundation, a charity founded in 2016 that offers accommodation and support services to homeless people in the local community.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Macari has now revealed he knew about the MBE for a while but was forced to keep it under wraps until the awards were officially unveiled late on Friday. “Yeah – I got a letter and the first two paragraphs said, ‘Keep this a secret, don’t let anyone know until a certain date’. I didn’t tell anybody,” he said.
“I have been walking past people and they’re saying, ‘You deserve a medal, you do’ – and I couldn’t say anything!” Recipients of an MBE or other award are typically notified about four to six weeks before the official honours list is published, with a strict embargo on telling colleagues, friends of extended family members.
Former Manchester United midfielder Lou Macari
Former Manchester United midfielder Lou Macari was awarded an MBE(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
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A prolific goal-scoring midfielder during his playing career, Macari notched up 97 goals in 404 appearances during a 12-year-spell at Old Trafford and even competed for Scotland at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. He joined United in 1973 for a £200,000 fee after breaking through at Celtic as one of the so-called Quality Street Gang that also included Kenny Dalglish and Danny McGrain.
After retirement, he returned to Celtic for an ill-fated one-year spell as manager. He also managed Swindon Town, West Ham, Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town before turning his attention to charity work.
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Speaking of his recognition, Macari told the Press Association: “It all started when I saw six homeless people in a doorway in Stoke on a cold winter’s night and went over to speak to them.
“I told them I would try to help them, I went to the council, got the keys to a property they had repossessed and quite simply that was the start of it all. I had no idea where it was going to go from there.
“Hopefully this honour will help increase awareness because although we are still trying and having some success, none of us have found a way to get rid of this problem.”