Lisbon Lion Murdoch dies

Bobby Murdoch after the 1972 Scottish Cup win

The funeral of Celtic football legend Bobby Murdoch will take place on Friday morning.

The service will be held at 0900BST at Saint Columcille's church on Main Street in his home town of Rutherglen on the outskirts of Glasgow.

Murdoch died in hospital on Tuesday morning two days after suffering a stroke.

The 56-year-old was admitted to the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow after falling ill on Sunday and slipping into a coma.

He was a fantastic passer of the ball - he could pass as well as David Beckham

  Pat Crerand
Ex-Celtic

He is the first of Celtic's famous Lisbon Lions side to have passed away.

A spokeswoman for the Victoria Infirmary said: "Bobby Murdoch died peacefully with his family at his side."

Murdoch, who was capped 12 times by Scotland, joined the Parkhead club in 1959.

He was a key figure in the side that defeated Inter Milan to become the first British club to win the European Cup in 1967 - the victory in Lisbon earning the conquering team the legendary name.

Minute's silence

Murdoch later played for Middlesbrough and went on to coach the English club.

Celtic chairman Brian Quinn said: "Bobby was a great servant to the club both on and off the field.

"His achievements as a Lisbon Lion and as a Scottish international will ensure that he lives on forever in the hearts and minds of the Celtic family and football fans everywhere as one of the Celtic legends.

"On behalf of everyone at Celtic Football Club, I would like to convey my utmost condolences to Bobby Murdoch's wife and family on his death."

Pat Crerand, who played with Murdoch at Celtic, said: "Bobby was a great guy, very friendly and very kind.

"I first met him when we were about 15 or 16 in the Celtic youth ranks. You could see then that he was going to be a great player.

"He was a fantastic passer of the ball - he could pass as well as David Beckham - and an excellent reader of the game as well.

"He deserved to win many more Scotland caps than he got."

Murdoch is survived by his wife Cathy, and his two sons and a daughter.

There will be a minute's silence before Tuesday's testimonial for Tom Boyd at Celtic Park, where the Scottish champions take on their English counterparts, Manchester United.