Former Aston Villa striker Gary Shaw has died at the age of 63, the club have announced.
Shaw was a member of the Villa side that won the First Division title in 1981 and the European Cup the following year.
The forward, who also had spells with Blackpool, Walsall, Kilmarnock and Shrewsbury, had been in hospital after suffering a head injury in a recent fall.
A Villa statement read: “Aston Villa Football Club is deeply shocked and profoundly saddened to learn that Gary Shaw, one of our European Cup-winning heroes, has passed away.
“Gary was one of our own, a talented striker who delighted supporters with his goalscoring exploits which helped fire Villa to success in the 1980s. Individual accolades would also follow for a player who was idolised by many on the terraces.
“He passed away peacefully earlier today surrounded by his family, who asked Aston Villa to release a statement on their behalf.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Gary’s family and loved ones at this extremely difficult time.”
Solihull-born Shaw joined Villa as an apprentice and went on to score 79 times in 213 appearances, including 20 in their title-winning campaign, after which he was named PFA Young Player of the Year.
He was then an important part of the team that won the European Cup with victory over Bayern Munich in the final in 1982. Shaw scored three goals in the competition including a quarter-final strike against Dynamo Kyiv.
He left Villa in 1988 with his career also taking him to Denmark, Austria and Hong Kong before he retired in 1992. He later worked as a statistical analyst and was a matchday ambassador for Villa.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here