Premier League side Chelsea have taken time to remember Matthew Charles Harding formerly their top fan who rose through ranks to serve as the club’s Vice President.
Born on December 1953, Herding would later become one of the most successful businessmen and a staunch Blues fan who eventually bought his way into the club’s administration.
Due to his unwavering support and love for Chelsea, a stand was named after him at Stamford Bridge; the famous ‘Matthew Harding Stand’.
“Harding became a member of the Chelsea board of directors in 1994 having been a long-standing fan of the club and one of his first and most enduring impacts was to play a major part in financing a much-needed new stand at Stamford Bridge, at the north end of the ground. It’s a stand that carries his name in tribute to this day,” Chelsea recalls in a statement.
He died on October 22, 1996, and 23 years later today, Chelsea took to social media to remember him with a special tweet.
“23 years today. Gone but never forgotten,” they tweeted.
Fans then thronged the channel with special tributes for a fallen hero.
Harding died at the age of 42 in a helicopter accident in October 1996, while flying back from a Chelsea match at Bolton Wanderers, along with the pilot and three passengers, including journalist John Bauldie.
The crash of the Eurocopter AS355 Écureuil 2 aircraft took place at night and in poor weather, near Middlewich, Cheshire.
An investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found that the pilot did not have the experience or qualifications necessary to safely pilot by instruments in such conditions.