Nottingham Forest and Manchester City supporters have warmly shown their support for Stuart Pearce after the England legend had a health scare.
It was reported that Pearce experienced a medical emergency on a flight across the Atlantic, which led to an emergency landing in Canada.
During the Saturday match between Forest and City, two clubs Pearce used to play for, fans applauded in the third minute to show their support.
The message 'Get well Stuart' was shown on the big screen at City Ground, and commentators from TNT Sports also honored the respected defender.
Fans in the stadium also displayed a banner to support him.
Pearce, 62, famously wore the number three for many clubs and for the England national team.
This tribute in the third minute was a nod to his jersey number.
He played around 460 games for Forest and won two League Cups with them.
He also managed Nottingham Forest for 32 games between 2014 and 2015.
Manchester City was where he finished his playing career, spending one season with them and playing 43 times.
He then became manager at City for his first management job, overseeing 97 games from 2005 to 2007.
Forest’s official account on X (formerly Twitter) also posted "Psycho" with a heart emoji in the third minute, referring to Pearce’s well-known nickname.
Pearce, who played for England 78 times, was hospitalized after the health issue on his flight and is now recovering.
Staff on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner kept checking on him and decided to redirect the flight to St John’s in Canada early Monday.
Medics came aboard and took the former Nottingham Forest defender to a hospital.
He and his partner were in economy class on Flight VS156, which departed from the US at 8:45 pm last Sunday.
A source mentioned that Stuart’s pain seemed to worsen during the flight.
“He kept changing his position in his seat trying to get comfortable.”
“It was very obvious the situation was serious. The crew and passengers with first aid training were amazing.”
“He received the best possible care given the situation and was very grateful to everyone involved, and for the plane being diverted to Canada.”
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson stated that flight VS156 from Las Vegas to London Heathrow was diverted to St John’s International Airport in Canada due to a passenger feeling unwell and was met by medical teams.
“The safety and health of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and we apologize for the delay to our customers’ journeys.”
Marcus Bellamy