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18th Nov 2017

Feyenoord fans sing YNWA for Brad Jones on anniversary of son’s passing

This was a quite breathtaking moment

Darragh Murphy

This would have meant a lot to Brad Jones.

On 18 November, 2011, Jones’ six-year-old son Luca lost his battle with leukemia and passed away.

That was six years ago and the fans of the goalkeeper’s current club, Feyenoord, decided to mark the anniversary of Luca’s tragic passing with a stunning gesture at De Kuip on Saturday afternoon.

In the early stages of Feyenoord’s 1-1 draw with VVV-Venlo, the stadium was suddenly illuminated by fans’ phones and lighters.

A rousing rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone then got underway for the former Liverpool stopper, who would certainly have appreciated the wonderful touch.

In recent years, Jones and wife Dani have been vocal champions of the work done by the Anthony Nolan foundation, an organisation which finds blood stem cell and bone marrow donors to help those suffering from various forms of blood cancer.

Ahead of their wedding in 2015, the couple even urged guests to give money to that charity rather than bring gifts.

A statement at the time read: “To celebrate our marriage and in lieu of gifts, we are asking you to support Anthony Nolan. So instead of toasters and glasses we ask you to convert all that gift value to life-saving donations! Please be generous xx.”