|
|
 |
| |
The tribute plaque |
Bear’s tribute to be removed
Fan’s roundabout plaque ‘must go’
A TRIBUTE plaque to one of the best-known Arsenal fans of all time – a supporter widely known as “The Bear” – must be removed, Islington Council insisted last night (Thursday).
The Town Hall has waved away appeals from Dainton Connell’s wife and friends that the plaque dedicated to him should be allowed to stay on the roundabout next to the Gunners’ Emirates Stadium in Ashburton Grove.
Officials have been accused of acting insensitively by issuing a removal order in the same week that his friends were marking the two-year anniversary of Mr Connell’s death in a car crash in Moscow.
Balloons and banners decorated the roundabout before Arsenal’s match against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday in honour of Mr Connell, a father-of-two who worked as a bodyguard for the Pet Shop Boys.
The 46-year-old was credited with keeping far right groups out of the Highbury terraces in the 1980s but also had a fearsome reputation for scrapes with rival fans.
Thousands turned up to his funeral service including former Arsenal players Ian Wright and Lee Dixon, and celebrity Gunners fans Matt Lucas and Frank Bruno.
“I anticipate a lot of angry faces,” said Mandy Connell, his wife.
A council spokesman said: “We respect the feelings of Mr Connell’s family and friends and we do want to resolve this with sensitivity. Although other tributes have already been removed we can’t offer the roundabout as a permanent location for the plaque and some residents have asked us to remove it.” |
 |
|
|
|
Your comments:
This is vandalism, totally. The man was a legend, so much so that in honour after his death the Pet Shop Boys signed over a percentage of royalties for certain tracks to his family.
Patrick M.
|
| |
|
|
|
