Oasis honoured late Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota with a touching tribute on the opening night of their highly anticipated reunion tour.
Jota, 28, and his brother Andre, 26 – also a footballer, who played for Portuguese second division side Penafiel – both died on Thursday following a tragic car crash in Spain.
His Lamborghini Huracan had a tyre blow out while he attempted to overtake another vehicle on the A-52 at Cernadilla near Zamora – just ten miles over the border from Portugal.
On Friday night, the Gallagher brothers performed at Cardiff City’s Principality Stadium in front of 75,000 fans, marking Oasis’ first live performance together since their split in 2009.
And they commemorated the milestone by dedicating their iconic song ‘Live Forever’ to Jota, raising an LED banner of the former Portugal international in a Liverpool shirt with his back to the crowd.
The incredible gesture was met with a loud cheers from the crowd, with one fan even raising a Portuguese flag in the air, as if they had expected Oasis to pay tribute to Jota.
Before Oasis’ performance, support act Cast also paid their respects to Jota.
The Liverpudlian indie rock band kicked off the show as the first act to take to the stage on Friday.
Frontman John Power took a moment to commemorate Jota as he dedicated their song Walkaway to the star.
In an emotional moment, he said: ‘This is Walkaway. This one is for Diogo Jota. Take it easy brother.’
The details of Jota’s crash have been thoroughly documented in its aftermath.
Jota’s car is said to have rolled and burst into flames, with emergency services unable to save him and his brother. No other vehicles were involved, police said.
The siblings were heading to Santander to catch a ferry to Britain after Diogo was advised not to fly following lung surgery, it was reported in his home country.
Emergency services in the Castilla and Leon region confirmed the crash and two fatalities at around 12.35am on Thursday. Diogo and Andre’s deaths were then confirmed by the Portuguese Football Federation at around 8am.
Jota’s death sent shockwaves through the footballing world and fans have gathered in their hundreds to lay and offer their condolences.
Tributes from all over have poured in since Jota’s tragic accident, with the sport’s biggest names – such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – leading the testimonials.
The tragedy came just days after Jota married his new wife Rute Cardoso – who he shares three young children with – on June 22.
On Friday, hundreds of mourners lined the streets of Gondomar to pay their final respects to Jota at the city’s chapel.
Fans snaked around the Portuguese principality as the tearful crowd queued to honour the Premier League hero before his funeral.
Mourners sobbed and carried roses and national team scarves in homage to Jota, who won the UEFA Nations League with Portugal less than a month ago.
Aerial footage showed queues stretching from the small chapel, around the corner to the nearby church where his funeral will be held.
Jota’s heartbroken wife and parents gathered at a wake and held a vigil at the coffins of the former Wolves striker and his brother Andre.
The town overlooking Porto is where the couple met and started dating as teenagers. They married less than two weeks ago and have three young children.
Diogo and Andre’s mother Isabel, father Joaquim and their grandfather were emotional on arriving at the chapel.
Joaquim hugged several people and was supported by his brother and later raised a hand to mourners as he left with his wife. They returned around an hour later.
Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro also attended the wake along with Jota’s agent Jorge Mendes. The President of Portugal, Marcelo de Sousa, came later.
The wake got underway on Friday afternoon ahead of funeral mass in the neighbouring church – the Igrega Matriz de Gondomar – at 10am on Saturday.
