Chelsea FC have paid tribute to their former vice-chairman Matthew Harding, 20 years on from his tragic death in a helicopter crash in Cheshire.
The weekend marked the 20th anniversary of the accident, which occurred when Harding was making his way home from an away match at Bolton in 1996.
Four others lost their lives when the aircraft came down near Middlewich .
Chelsea used Sunday's fixture against United to honour the life of the man known as 'Mr Chelsea'.
A special edition programme cover was designed to the same style as Chelsea's 1996 programmes and featured some of the emotional tributes paid to Harding at the time of his death.
Club owner Roman Abramovich paid for a gigantic 100ft by 50ft banner to be passed over fans in the stand which is named after Harding before kick-off.
The banner read: "Matthew Harding — Always Loved Never Forgotten".
Every ticket to the game had an image of Harding, a lifelong Chelsea fan, on the back with the message: "In memory of Matthew Harding."
Further flags and banners were on display at Stamford Bridge paying homage to the popular director, including a long one hung from the Matthew Harding Stand upper tier.
Harding's widow Ruth was the special guest for the match, which ended in an unhappy return for former manager Jose Mourinho as Chelsea ran out 4-0 winners.
Dave Johnstone, of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust, said: “This shows that the club has not lost touch with the fans or its past, despite what people say about Mr Abramovich.
“I think Roman Abramovich is the best thing that ever happened to Chelsea but you have to think that were Matthew Harding not taken from us so tragically and so young, would we have needed him?”
