Former West Brom and England striker Cyrille Regis dies – latest updates

Our tech guys have put together this video obituary, featuring some of Regis’s most memorable goals. It’s well worth a minute of your time …

Johan Cruyff tells a nice story about Cyrille Regis in his autobiography My Turn. The Dutch legend, then manager of Ajax, wanted to sign Regis to replace Marco van Basten, who was about to leave for Milan. Regis was “a physically strong striker with charisma, who was still at the top of his game,” says Cruyff, but the board messed the deal up. They failed again after Cruyff arranged to sign Rabah Madjer, and Cruyff resigned soon after, largely because of the Regis/Madjer deals.

The tributes continue to pour in from former players, commentators and the clubs Regis graced …

Here is Regis paying tribute to fellow West Brom legend, Tony ‘Bomber’ Brown, three years ago …

Adrian Chiles told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he had been due to meet Regis and former team-mate Batson on Tuesday. The Broadcaster and West Brom fan said: “In later years I was privileged to get to know him as a friend and he just didn’t carry anger with him from that time. Ian Wright, a later generation of black players, said ‘we were like Malcolm X … but Cyrille was like Martin Luther King’, Cyrille was always turning the other cheek. They did so much for the game and so much for the cause of black footballers. I was supposed to meet him and Brendon tomorrow to discuss a celebration we were having for the 40th anniversary of Laurie Cunningham making his debut for us, celebrating 40 years of all that’s been achieved by black footballers in the game. So I suppose that meeting will now turn into something of a wake. We are all absolutely horrified and want to do all we can to pay tribute to the greatest of footballers and the greatest of men.”

Before his England debut against Northern Ireland in 1982, Regis was sent sent a bullet by racists. How he reacted was typical of the man. “I kept it as a reminder of the evil some people had inside them,” Regis said later. “For the rest of my playing days, it was a motivation that they weren’t going to stop me.”

Cyrille Regis was the third black player to be capped for England, after his West Brom team-mate Laurie Cunningham and Viv Anderson. In what proved to be his final tweet on 1 October, Regis posted a pio9cture of Cunningham with the words of a commentator transcribed over the top and the caption: “Says it all” …

Coventry City have confirmed that the 59-year-old died on Sunday after suffering a cardiac arrest. Regis memorably won the 1987 FA Cup final with City, who said in a statement: “Cyrille was a true Sky Blues legend, a strong, powerful striker and gentleman. He was still a regular visitor to the Ricoh Arena on matchdays, always humble and taking the time to speak to supporters.” The club will pay tribute to their former striker at this Saturday’s game against Swindon Town at the Ricoh Arena. Read Coventry’s full statement here

Regis was born Maripasoula in French Guiana on 9 February 1958 and arrived in Britain with his family five years later. He grew up in London and played for non-league Hayes before securing a move to West Brom in 1977. There, with fellow black players Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson, he became one part of the Three Degrees. Having three black players in a team was unusual at the time and the trio were subjected to horrific abuse from the terraces during the late 70s. Some of the stories beggar belief …

The early indications are that Regis died of a heart attack, but that has yet to be confirmed. This morning the football world is lining up to pay tribute to a man who changed the game …

Hello, and welcome to our live blog on this sad day for football. Cyrille Regis was a wonderful footballer and a trailblazer for black players. The world will be a lesser place without him. Let me have your memories of him, on and off the pitch