Players to wear black armbands as tribute to Francisco Brines

Valencia CF will wear black armbands in memory of Francisco Brines during Saturday's game against SD Huesca. In addition, flags at Mestalla will fly at half mast until Monday in honour of the poet, who died this Thursday at the age of 89, adding to the official mourning declared by the Generalitat regional government.

The club are also working to provide an appropriate tribute to the lifelong Valencianista at Mestalla whenever possible.

A dedicated Valencianista, just days ago he became the first Valencian to receive the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious award for literature and poetry in Spanish. In his career he was also the recepient of the National Literature Prize, the Reina Sofía Award for Ibero-American poetry, the Federico García Lorca International Poetry award and the National Critics award, amongst other honours.

His enormous artistic and cultural profile was coupled with his passion for Valencia CF. His opinion columns in the El País newspaper often reference the club, for whom his father, José Brines Benavent, was a board member for much of the 1960s.

On the occasion of his winning the Cervantes Prize, Valencia CF, through the VCF Foundation, sent the poet a reproduction of the club's constitutional act, accompanied by a letter of thanks and appreciation from club president Anil Murthy.