The brother of football legends Jack and Bobby Charlton has called for the entire 1966 World Cup-winning team to receive posthumous knighthoods.
Tom Charlton said the ongoing snub is “no way to treat our heroes”.
Bobby, 83 – revealed this week to have dementia – and hat-trick scorer Geoff Hurst, 78, are the only other team members to have been awarded the honour.
Late manager Alf Ramsey was knighted in 1967 but Tom is dismayed that Jack, who died aged 85 in July, and the other players have been ignored.
Ex-mine rescue worker Tom, 74, of Rotherham, told the Mirror: “The whole team ought to receive retrospective knighthoods.
“Bob totally deserved his award but I’ve always felt it’s a bit of slur that Jack wasn’t given one as well.
“I look at so many knighted people and can’t understand how they’re better than him. I think the powers have made up their minds knighthoods won’t be granted after someone has died – but surely some kind of amendment could be made.
“This is no way to treat heroes is it?”
Apart from Sir Bobby and Sir Geoff, the team’s only survivors are George Cohen, 81, and Roger Hunt, 82. Those never knighted include captain Bobby Moore, who died aged 51 in 1993, and Nobby Stiles, 78, who died on Friday.
Labour MP Ian Lavery, whose Wansbeck constituency includes the Charltons’ home town of Ashington, yesterday said: “These heroes from a legendary team should all be knighted.”
A Cabinet Office spokesman said they could comment on individual cases but added: “Honours cannot be given posthumously because they award membership of a living Order of Chivalry.”
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