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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Matt Dunn

Peter Beardsley snubbed for invite to England's 1,000th match celebrations after racism ban

Peter Beardsley has not been invited to England's 1,000th match celebrations.

England are facing off against Montenegro at Wembley on Thursday in a night that will be full of special events and ceremonies celebrating the history of English football.

All the surviving captains and members of the World Cup winning team from 1966 have been invited to attend the match.

The FA have also invited every player who has made over 50 appearances for the Three Lions.

Viv Anderson, England's first black player, has also been invited to join the celebrations.

But Beardsley, who played 59 times for England, is the only player who falls into the above categories not to be invited to the event by the FA.

An FA panel charged Beardsley for his alleged comments to Newcastle youngsters (Newcastle United via Getty)
Beardsley in action for England against the Republic of Ireland in 1988 (Popperfoto via Getty Images)

The former Newcastle and Liverpool player was banned from football for 32 weeks in September.

Beardsley was found guilty of three charges in the FA's investigation of racially abusing black players while he was coach of Newcastle United Under-23s - although he strenuously denied the claims.

The panel concluded that Beardsley was "not a racist" but that the incidents in question were “obviously racist and wholly unacceptable”.

As part of his punishment, Beardsley was forced to attend an education course.

England play their 1,000th match on Thursday night (Getty Images)

The ban expires on April 29, 2020 and it is understood that the FA decided on balance that it would not be appropriate for him to join his former international colleagues at this showpiece occasion.

Former managers have also been invited to the event, including Sam Allardyce, who was sacked after just one game in charge in 2016 as a result of "inappropriate behaviour".

The former players in attendance will receive their 'legacy numbers'.

Allardyce has received an invite despite being sacked after just one game (PA)

The idea of the numbers is common in cricket, but is new to English football.

All players who have played for England will receive the number which correlates to the order they played for the Three Lions.

Robert Barker, goalkeeper in England’s first ever game in 1872, is officially the No.1 England international, while Tyrone Mings, who won his first cap in Bulgaria last month, is No.1244.

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