Dubai: A UAE-based Leicester City fan, whose husband tragically died on his way to a match this season, believes their club’s Premier League triumph is a gift from her beloved partner in heaven.
Grandfather of two, Ian Midgley suffered a heart attack outside Anfield ahead of Leicester’s trip to Liverpool on December 26 while the couple were tying a Foxes’ scarf to the Hillsborough memorial outside the ground. He was 54 and working in the oil industry.
Despite the tragedy, Ian’s wife Denise, 55, has loyally carried on travelling back and forth to the UK to watch the Midlands outfit both home and away, only missing four games this season. She even went to Stamford Bridge on Monday to watch the 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, which crowned Leicester champions.
“I got up on Tuesday morning and said I can’t just watch this on TV, so I got on the train and went down to London with my Leicester shirt and scarf on and managed to get a ticket,” she told Gulf News via a phone interview on Tuesday.
“The Chelsea fans were fantastic and when they got that second goal in, they were lifting me up and chucking me up and down in celebration. I spent a couple of hours outside the stadium just posing for photos with people.
“It’s bittersweet that Ian’s not here to see this, because he would have been over the moon, but I’m convinced that this is a gift from him.
“It doesn’t take away the pain, but it shows that whatever happens you are able to smile again and go forward. He’s smiling down on me, I’m 100 per cent convinced of that,” added the Ras Al Khaimah resident, a housewife who has supported Leicester since the age of eight.
As well as Chelsea fans, Denise also spoke highly of the Liverpool faithful who had supported her during her time of grief, including Anfield manager Jurgen Klopp who personally penned a letter of condolence to her and the family.
“Although what happened five months ago was horrendous, I did find it a great deal of comfort that it occurred in such a passionate football area. And the support I received there, in what has always been my favourite away ground, was most heartening.”
Leicester’s fairy tale 5000-1 shot triumph, she said, would now always be a great source of hope.
“I can’t put it into words, we’ve been through the mill with all our ups and downs over the years, but this has really taken football back to the grass roots.
“We’re not a multimillion pound club, but we’ve shown what can be achieved through teamwork and going back to basics. They’ve all got each other’s backs and that’s something the bigger clubs can’t buy. They may have great individual players but they don’t have a team.”
