UK Football

By Mike Collett

MANCHESTER, England, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Fans of both Manchester United and Manchester City observed a perfect and moving minute's silence in glorious spring sunshine at Old Trafford on Sunday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1958 Munich air disaster.

Fears that City fans would spoil the occasion at the home of their fiercest rivals came to nothing in a short, emotional ceremony that preceded their Premier League derby.

The only noises that disturbed the peace were six loud bangs which appeared to come from fireworks set off outside the stadium.

A lone piper led the procession of officials and players on to the field with Alex Ferguson leading out the United team alongside Sven-Goran Eriksson at the head of the City side. The two managers laid wreaths in their club colours on either side of the centre circle.

They then embraced and were warmly applauded by the crowd. Once the silence was over, United fans applauded the City fans.

The players and the referee were accompanied by 23 mascots with the names of the victims on their shirts.

Before kickoff, the names of the dead were also displayed on the perimeter fencing around the pitch which normally features electronic advertising.

Eight United players died in the crash, as well as 15 other people including Frank Swift, the former Manchester City and England goalkeeper, who was working as a journalist at the time.

The plane carrying United back from a European Cup match in Belgrade crashed on takeoff after a refuelling stop at Munich on Feb. 6, 1958.

FLORAL TRIBUTES

Fans began arriving at Old Trafford in their thousands from early morning on Sunday, with many laying flowers and other tributes at a temporary shrine opposite the statue of Matt Busby, the architect of the young side that died.

There were tributes from all over the world including Malta, Australia, Japan and the United States, with one shirt emblazoned with the message, "Busby Babes, forever Champions in Heaven."

A new, permanent exhibition about the tragedy was open for the first time, built into the walls of the South Terrace at Old Trafford, renamed the Munich Tunnel.

When fans arrived at their seats they found a gift pack of a scarf and a replica of the match programme of United's first game following the disaster.

The programme, for an FA Cup fifth-round match against Sheffield Wednesday played on Feb. 19, 1958, had the expected Wednesday team line-up but featured 11 blank spaces where the United names should have been.

United fans were given a red, white and black scarf while City fans were given a scarf in their colours of light blue and white with black borders. Almost all the fans held their scarves aloft during the silence.

An accompanying letter from United's chief executive David Gill said: "The crash was a tragedy that was felt by the whole of Manchester. As a post-war industrial city, it was a close, fiercely proud community.

"Great rivalry between United and City had existed for years, but the two clubs also had strong histories of friendship and respect, with City offering United a home while bomb-damaged Old Trafford was rebuilt after the War.

"Our thanks go to Manchester City for their work and support during the planning process for this match."

The teams both wore 1950s-style kits without logos, emblems or names, with just players' numbers on the back.