Share to ClassroomKilled Officer's Sons Lead Out Manchester United
The two young sons of a British police officer led the Manchester United team onto the field on Sunday. They were the team's mascots— the children who walk out with the players. Their father, Matthew Blades, was 37. He died on 22 August when a car drove the wrong way on a main road near Middlesbrough and hit his police car. Another officer, Tom Clough, 38, also died. All five young people in the other car died too.
Blades loved Manchester United and often went to watch them. The club wrote a long message about him in its match programme. It said he was a good family man and an officer who helped other people. His wife, Sarah, watched the game too. Newspapers said the older boy walked out with the team captain and the younger boy with the goalkeeper. Police have now arrested 24 people after the crash.
Football fans in other places also remembered the two officers. Before another match on Saturday, the crowd clapped for one minute, and pictures of the men were shown on a big screen. People met at a small local game too, because Blades had trained children's teams there. The club called him “ forever our superhero” .
