Cliff Notes – Liverpool vs Preston to go ahead with Diogo Jota tributes
- Liverpool confirmed that their match against Preston North End will proceed as scheduled, despite the recent tragic death of Diogo Jota and his brother.
- The game will feature tributes, including a minute’s silence, black armbands for players, and a rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” prior to kick-off.
Liverpool vs. Preston to go ahead with Diogo Jota tributes
Liverpool’s game against Preston North End will take place as planned on Sunday, Liverpool announced on Friday, in what will be the first match since Diogo Jota’s death.
Sources had confirmed the news to ESPN on Thursday.
The Premier League champions’ first preseason friendly of the summer had been in doubt after Jota and his brother André Silva’s death last week, but the club have decided to fulfil the fixture.
It could include several first-team players, who reported to training on Tuesday. The initial planned return to preseason training was delayed, with many players having attended the funeral in Portugal last Saturday.
Liverpool defender Andy Robertson stands beside tributes to Diogo Jota at Anfield earlier this week. Nikki Dyer – LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Jota and Silva will be commemorated at Deepdale with a rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone played ahead of kick-off and Preston will lay a wreath alongside the away supporters.
Liverpool also confirmed both sets of players will wear black armbands and a minute’s silence will be observed with digital tributes played on the screen and across pitchside LEDs.
The match will be televised live on ITV in the UK, on LFCTV and streamed globally on All Red Video, with coverage there beginning at 2.15pm BST.
Floral tributes have been left outside the AXA Training Centre, as well as Anfield, in recent days after Jota and his brother died in a car crash in northwest Spain.
Spain’s Civil Guard said on Tuesday that while their investigation into the cause of the crash continues, they believe Jota was driving over the speed limit when the Lamborghini veered off course.
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Jota is believed to have been driving to a ferry in Spain to travel to the UK for the start of Liverpool’s preseason.
Former Liverpool coach John Heitinga, just unveiled as Ajax’s new boss, said on Thursday that he fell “silent” after hearing the news.
“At the time, I was sitting with one of my players — Kian Fitz-Jim,” he said. “I got a push message in on my watch. Then you fall silent. You go first to see if it’s really true. It was true … It’s still hard to realise it happened. Everyone processes it in their own way. Thoughts go straight to his family, friends and colleagues.”
Meanwhile, Ojogo report that Liverpool’s Luis Díaz and Alisson were among the players that attended the requiem mass for Jota and his brother Silva on Wednesday evening in Gondomar, Portugal.
Both players had been unable to attend the wake and funeral that took place in the same church on Saturday.
Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca was also in attendance. Al Hilal’s Rúben Neves, a close friend of Jota, was also present as were other Portuguese players, including Wolves goalkeeper José Sá.
Information from ESPN’s Beth Lindop and Adriana Garcia was used in this report.