Fernando Ricksen's first professional club are to hold a minute silence beside a statue of him outside their stadium this evening after he tragically passed away.
Club officials at Dutch side Fortuna Sittard confirmed the vigil will take place at 6pm outside the ground.
Sittard erected a statue to pay tribute to their hero back in 2018 and will always remember Ricksen as a club legend.
Celtic hero Stiliyan Petrov remembers 'friend and true fighter' Fernando Ricksen after tragic death
Along with the news of the memorial, the club hailed the former defender and told how he left an indelible mark on their history.
Posting on their club website, they wrote: "Today we received the sad news that Fortuna Sittard icon Fernando Ricksen died at the age of 43.
"For years he fought against the debilitating muscle disease ALS. We wish all surviving relatives strength in this difficult time.
The death of Fernando Ricksen is a black day for the Fortuna Sittard family. Ricksen made his debut in yellow-green in 1993 and soon grew to become a public favourite in Sittard.
"Fernando Ricksen left an indelible impression in his time at Fortuna Sittard.
"The club underlined this by naming the Noord tribune after him in 2014. In January 2018 a statue of him was unveiled at the stadium in the presence of friends and former teammates Mark van Bommel and Kevin Hofland.
"Fernando Ricksen will therefore always be remembered and honoured within the club.
"In memory of Fernando Ricksen there will be a moment of silence at the statue tonight at 6 p.m.
"Afterwards there is the possibility for everyone to sign the condolence register. This will take place in the Supporters Home."
Ricksen started and ended his career at Fortuna Sittard and helped them to a league title in 1995.
We told earlier how the ex-Rangers star has been remembered by former pals and teammates.
Clubs and players from around the country and the globe have been leaving messages of condolence and love for the player.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel