Fans and players pay tribute to Cyrille Regis at The Hawthorns
Tuesday 30 January 2018 15:21, UK
West Brom fans, players and staff turned out to pay their respects to Cyrille Regis, as his funeral service was held on Tuesday.
Regis, who scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for West Brom, passed away on January 14, aged 59.
Before his funeral service, West Brom manager Alan Pardew and players joined hundreds of fans in applauding as the funeral cortege arrived at The Hawthorns.
The cortege left for a private service for Regis' family, before an open-air service for fans and figures from around the world of football took place at the stadium.
Carlton Palmer, Ron Atkinson, Les Ferdinand, Chris Hughton, Steve Bull and Brendon Batson were all present to pay their respects.
Regis was described as "our brightest star" by Jonathan Barnett, chairman of the Stellar Agency, where Regis worked as an agent.
"As a player he was strong, direct, cool and resilient, as an agent he showed every one of those qualities and so much more," he said.
"We had a young client on the fringes of the game, struggling at home, making mistakes, beset with demons. There was only one man for the job, and in Cyrille went.
"A decade later that client is a Premier League star who owes everything to Cyrille."
Regis was appointed an MBE in 2008 and is regarded as a pioneer for black players.
The former striker became a cult hero at the club. Regis was the third black player to receive an England call-up and went on to earn five caps.
