🔗 Share this article

Manchester United together with Man City are set to honor the victims of the assault at a Manchester temple prior to their Premier League matches over the coming days.

Yet, honors are not set to be regularly observed across the Premier League or English Football League regarding Thursday's incident in which two people died with three more wounded.

Specific Honors Arranged

Man Utd squad members will wear dark bands and hold a minute's silence prior to their game against Sunderland at their home ground this Saturday, while the women's team will do the same at their Women's Super League match facing Chelsea on Friday night.

During his news conference Friday, United men's manager Ruben Amorim said: "We live in turbulent times currently, lot of big things happened, sympathy to victims, we will pay tribute tomorrow."

Man Utd's youth as well as under-21 sides will also wear dark armbands during their matches.

Man City will also wear black armbands when they travel to Brentford on Sunday and have agreed with the home team to hold a period of quiet prior to the start.

Further Context

An observance was already planned by the Bees in memory of their head of academy goalkeeping Christopher Ramsey, who passed away recently due to illness.

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

Manchester City women will likewise show respect prior to their WSL game facing Arsenal this Saturday.

It is understood the top division and EFL will support any club seeking to honor the victims.

Past Examples

During the opening round of the campaign, a league-wide period of quiet was held before all top-flight matches to remember Liverpool forward the athlete along with his sibling Andre Silva after their deaths in a vehicle accident in Spain.

However, insiders indicate the league has long moved away from the idea of having blanket silences for non-football issues, although it has previously embraced campaigns against bias.

It comes after the Football Association stated that the stadium's arch would only illuminate for sports and shows under a new policy in November 2023.

The decision followed criticism after the arch remained unlit with Israel's colors after the October 7 attacks by the group in which 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 New Zealand's mosque attacks.

Top-flight clubs previously donned black armbands and France's national anthem was played after November 2015's Paris attacks.