Stan Collymore has praised Liverpool for their ‘very classy’ response to the tragic death of Diogo Jota.
Reds fans on Merseyside and throughout the world continue to mourn the loss of the 28-year-old and his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in northern Spain on 3 July, with widespread tributes being paid throughout the world of football in recent days.
The family of the two men were at Anfield on Friday, with much of the stadium’s perimeter lined with flowers, shirts, scarves and other items laid in their memory as a mark of respect.
Collymore full of praise for ‘classy’ Liverpool
In his latest column for CaughtOffside, Collymore shared his own experience of hearing the horrific news nine days ago and added that anyone at Liverpool in need of emotional support will be able to find it.
The former Reds striker wrote: “Liverpool, as always, a very classy football club. You’d expect them – particularly with their unfortunate understanding of tragedy with Hillsborough and Heysel – is that the first thing is looking after the player’s family, which they’ve done, and looking after the players and the staff.
“Liverpool will continue to do that. I don’t think anybody will be under pressure to do anything that they don’t want to do. I think that everybody will be encouraged to talk to each other in the dressing room, and perhaps if any players, particularly those that were very close to him, might need some counselling.”
Liverpool have handled this tragedy with class and dignity
The response from Liverpool FC to the tragedy has indeed been first-class, with LFCTV airing an impeccable tribute programme commemorating Jota earlier this week and the club also retiring his number 20 shirt across men’s, women’s and academy teams.
It isn’t just the Reds’ players who are feeling a deep-rooted sense of loss and mourning, but also every member of staff at LFC, where Diogo became a beloved figure and always will be.
The decision to retire the number 20 was made after his family were consulted as the club sought to show the utmost respect, and further tributes will be paid prior to kick-off in the friendly against Preston on Sunday, our first match since the tragedy occurred.
In players such as Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson and Alisson Becker, Liverpool’s dressing room contains genuine leaders who’ll be a rock to anyone who needs support, and it’s also essential that those men have someone to whom they can turn as they try to process their own grief.
The days, weeks and months ahead will present an unprecedented psychological challenge for the current Reds squad. As Collymore has said, though, this is a club which has experienced tragedy on an unspeakable scale before and kept going through indefatigable defiance and an unbreakable collective bond.
