Matchday tribute to stabbed footballer Cody Fisher

Schoolchildren person formed a defender of honour successful representation of a footballer who was stabbed to decease connected a nightclub dancefloor connected Boxing Day.

There was besides beryllium a minute's soundlessness for Cody Fisher astatine his club's match.

The Stratford Town crippled connected Saturday was the archetypal since his decease astatine the Crane venue successful Digbeth, Birmingham.

Children from St Gregory's School successful Stratford-upon-Avon, wherever helium coached, carried his garment astir the pitch.

The pre-match minute's soundlessness was followed by 1 of applause successful the 23rd infinitesimal - matching the player's squad number.

His garment was retired by the nine successful a ceremonial connected Thursday.

The club's chairman, Jed McCrory, said section schoolchildren had been invited to be the crippled for free, on with those from schools wherever the 23-year-old taught.

He said the crippled connected Saturday was not astir playing oregon winning, oregon losing.

"It's astir mean radical getting done beingness and going guardant unneurotic and [seeing] wherever we extremity up," helium explained.

The Stratford Town manager, Gavin Hurren, said: "The lads privation to bash this for Cody."

He described the subordinate arsenic a hard-working squad subordinate who was "honest, affirmative and respectful" and had been "a monolithic portion of the dressing room".

He added it was "a time wherever we tin basal together, shoulder-to-shoulder, and wage our respects to 1 of our own".

Team mate Dan Lafferty said it was "really tough" but the lucifer was astir "remembering Cody for the apical lad that helium was due to the fact that helium was an unbelievable person".

Captain Will Grocott said the squad had met a fig of times since they heard the news, adding: "I deliberation everyone's inactive successful shock, personally, for me, it inactive hasn't sunk in."

He said helium and immoderate of the different players had gone to the nightclub wherever Mr Fisher died to laic flowers.

He described him arsenic "a beautiful, beauteous person".

The shot nine is besides backing a petition calling for "Cody's Law" which would marque metallic detectors and bleed kits mandatory successful clubs and astatine events.

T-shirts carrying the slogan were worn astatine the game.

In the ceremonial connected Thursday, players astatine the nine said Mr Fisher's decease had near a spread successful their lives and they were struggling with their grief.

The Redditch-born near backmost had antecedently played for Stourbridge Football Club and Bromsgrove Sporting Football Club.

Stratford Town has acceptable up the Cody 23 Community Fund with the purpose of helping young radical get a coaching licence and to wage for their qualifications to go a referee.

Murder suspects Kami Carpenter, 21, and Remy Gordon, 22, some from Birmingham, appeared astatine the city's crown tribunal connected Wednesday.

Mr Carpenter, of nary fixed address, and Mr Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Birmingham, were remanded successful custody.

The Crane nightclub has had its licence suspended for 28 days.

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