Man Utd and West Ham pay emotional tribute to The Queen with minute’s silence and black armbands before European games
FOOTBALL paid tribute to The Queen on Thursday night with a minute's silence and black armbands in memory of Her Majesty.
Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth II had passed away after the Royal family gathered at Balmoral.
Later in the evening, Manchester United lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad at Old Trafford and West Ham beat FCSB 3-1 at the London Stadium.
And both matches saw fitting tributes paid to The Queen after it was confirmed the games would go ahead.
A statement from Man Utd read: "Following direction from the FA and UEFA, tonight’s UEFA Europa League fixture against Real Sociedad will take place as planned at Old Trafford.
"A minute’s silence will be held before kick-off which will allow the teams, match officials and everyone in attendance to pay their respects to Her Majesty, The Queen.
Read More On The Queen's Death
"Both teams will wear black armbands and the flags at Old Trafford will fly at half-mast as a sign of our utmost respect."
Following the Queen's death, Old Trafford flew their flags at half-mast as fans arrived to the ground.
And supporters already in the stadium watched the coverage on screens in the concourse.
When the teams came out ahead of the game, the black armbands were visible on both sets of players.
The Queen's passing comes as...
- Liz Truss hailed the Queen as ‘the rock on which modern Britain was built’
- King Charles told of his 'greatest' sadness as he paid tribute to his mother
- The Queen went from a shy daddy's girl to a hero who dedicated her life to the country
- The Union flag flew at half mast as the devastating news was announced
- Prince Charles has now become King Charles III
- Prince Harry was pictured holding his head as he travelled to Balmoral to be with his family
- Crowds have gathered at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral to pay tribute to the Queen
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And all advertising hoardings around the ground had been blacked out.
At the London Stadium, West Ham adopted the same measures for their match.
And the minute's silence at both stadiums was perfectly respected before kick-off.
Then at half-time, BT Sport decided against showing any ads as they simply broadcast a black screen with "BT Sport" written across it until the coverage returned.
Earlier in the evening, a moment of silence was carried out before the second half of Arsenal's game against FC Zurich in Switzerland.
That came just minutes after her tragic death had been announced.