Liverpool pay tribute to the Munich air disaster victims on 55th anniversary of tragedy that took the lives of eight Manchester United players

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free

Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

On the 55th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, Manchester United's great rivals Liverpool posted a heart-warming poster on their Facebook page.

The tribute (above) shows the famous Munich clock which stands at Old Trafford with the time and minutes permanently at 3.03pm on 6 February 1958, as well as a Liverpool shirt in a show of solidarity.

The words on the poster read: "We all remember. We won't forget. May their soul rest in peace, by the grace of God. You'll never walk alone."

Manchester City also paid tribute to the eight players and 15 staff and journalists who died as a result of a failed take-off at a refuelling stop as they returned from a European tie in Belgrade.

United's nearest rivals posted on Facebook: "Today we stand together and remember City goalkeeper Frank Swift and all the victims of the 1958 Munich air disaster, never forgotten."

England manager Roy Hodgson, who was 11-years-old at the time of the incident, said it was important to remember the tragedy.

"I remember that night extremely well," said Hodgson.

"I remember sitting at home as an 11-year-old and hearing the news and being absolutely devastated.

"So many great players, and a footballing generation in Manchester lost their lives.

"It is a sobering thought but it is important to remember those things."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also revealed in a BBC interview that he had been affected by the incident.

"I've been affected by it since I was a young boy," said the Scot, who was then a 16-year-old striker at Queen's Park.

"For many people it is long forgotten but for someone like me, who remembers the day, you won't forget it.

"It was a fantastic group of young men who were destined to be great and that was the tragedy in how it was taken away from them."