Arabic version: مشجعو كرة القدم يكرّمون شرطيين قُتلا في حادث على الطريق A66

According to BBC News, football fans and players have paid tribute to Cleveland Police officers PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, who were killed in a crash on Teesside. The officers died in a head-on collision between their police car and a vehicle travelling the wrong way on the A66 near Middlesbrough early on 22 August. Five people in the other vehicle also died.

A minute’s applause was held before Middlesbrough’s Championship match against West Bromwich Albion at Riverside Stadium. Pictures of the two officers were displayed on a screen. Middlesbrough FC said it was showing appreciation for the men’s dedication and hard work, as well as for Cleveland Police in protecting and supporting the local community.

Tributes were also paid at Seaton Carew FC’s match against FC Hartlepool. PC Blades had been a junior football coach at both teams. His friend, Seaton Carew FC coach Marcus Newing, described the previous week as “horrendous” but said the national “outpouring” had been “comforting”. He said PC Blades was “giving to everybody” and “would go out of his way to make people stay, to make people feel safe”.

Seaton FC ambassador Marty Hewitt said rivalry had been put aside so people could reflect on PC Blades’ life and “obviously for the life of Tom as well”. Hartlepool United held a two-minute silence before its home National League match against Eastleigh on Friday. Earlier in the week, 17 people were arrested in connection with the crash investigation, bringing the total number of arrests to 24.