🔗 Share this article

Man Utd together with Man City will remember the victims of the assault at a Manchester temple before their top-flight matches this weekend.

Yet, tributes will not be regularly observed across the Premier League or EFL for the event on Thursday where two individuals lost their lives with three more wounded.

Specific Tributes Arranged

Man Utd squad members will wear dark bands along with observing a minute's silence prior to their game against Sunderland at Old Trafford this Saturday, while the female squad will follow suit in their WSL fixture against Chelsea on Friday night.

Speaking at his news conference on Friday, Man Utd's head coach the team's manager said: "We live in turbulent times we are living in at the moment, lot of big things happened, condolences to those affected, we will pay tribute tomorrow."

United's under-18 and U21 teams will likewise don black armbands in their games.

Man City will also wear dark bands as they visit Brentford this Sunday and have coordinated with the home team to observe a moment's silence before kick-off.

Additional Context

An observance was already planned by the Bees to honor their academy goalkeeping coach a staff member, who died on Wednesday of bowel cancer.

Brentford have agreed to change the honor from a minute's applause to silence given the gravity of the recent assault.

Manchester City women will also pay their respects prior to their WSL game facing Arsenal on Saturday.

It is understood both the Premier League and the Football League are backing any team seeking to honor the victims.

Past Precedents

On the first weekend of the season, a Premier League-wide moment of silence was held before all top-flight matches in memory of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota along with his sibling Andre Silva after their deaths in a car crash abroad.

Nonetheless, insiders have said the organisation has long steered clear of implementing universal quiet moments for external events, even though it has supported anti-discrimination initiatives.

This follows the Football Association stated that Wembley's arch would only be lit for sports and shows under a new policy in November 2023.

This move followed criticism when the arch was not lit with Israel's colors following the assaults by the group where 1,200 people were killed.

Previously, England's top division, EFL and FA faced allegations of "double standards" for not holding tributes for the 50 victims in the temple assaults abroad.

Top-flight clubs had worn dark bands with the French anthem performed after November 2015's Paris attacks.