The funeral date of former Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa footballer, Dalian Atkinson, has been set for this forthcoming Saturday.
The Sheffield Star have reported that the event will be held in Telford Crematorium chapel in Shropshire at 11.30am on Saturday, followed by a private interment at nearby Hadley cemetery.
The former footballer was tragically shot dead when he was tasered by police on August 15th, in an incident that occurred in the early hours of that morning.
The player, who is best remembered for scoring that goal against Wimbledon, began his career at Ipswich. He scored 18 goals in 60 appearances for The Tractor Boy’s before Ron Atkinson paid £800,000 to take him to Sheffield Wednesday in 1989.
He lasted just one season in Sheffield before being sold to Real Sociedad in Spain. From Sociedad, he then moved to Villa. It was during his spell at Villa Park that he arguably had his most successful spell as a player – featuring in eighty-five games and scored twenty-five times.
As well as that goal against Wimbledon, Atkinson also scored in Villa’s 1994 league Cup final win over Manchester United and netted twice in the two-legged semi-final against Tranmere Rovers.
Atkinson, who after a spell in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, eventually retired in 2001.
Following the initial incident on August 15th, the doctors attempted to revive him for thirty-five minutes before he eventually lost the battle.
An inquest into his death began in August and is still ongoing. A private investigation from the police complaints commission is also underway.
