Nottingham Forest defender Steve Cook is the latest Reds player to donate to a fundraiser supporting the family of Ian Coates, one of the three city attack victims. Mr Coates, described by his family as an ‘avid fisherman’ and a big supporter of the Premier League club, was found fatally stabbed in Magdala Road, in Mapperley Park, in the early hours of Tuesday (June 13).
In the days following the horrific and senseless violence, that has left Nottinghamshire in shock and in a state of mourning, flowers and Forest shirts have been left in Magdala Road in memory of the 65-year-old, who worked as a caretaker at the Huntingdon Academy in St Ann’s and was due to retire in the next few months.
Experienced centre-half Cook, 32, has since donated £500 to an online fundraising page set up to help the family of Mr Coates towards the funeral costs and a memorial. Cook, who was an integral part of the Forest side that won promotion to the Premier League, and featured several times in the top flight last season, follows in the wake of Reds vice-captain Ryan Yates, who has also donated £200 to the cause.
At the time of writing almost £9,500 has been raised on the fundraising page which has an overall target of £10,000. The actor and avid Reds fan Arsher Ali, known for his roles in various films and dramas, has donated also £150.
Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, who were both in their first year at the University of Nottingham, also died in the attacks. Both 19 years old and with bright futures ahead of them, they were stabbed to death in Ilkeston Road, Radford, after a night out in the city centre.
Thousands attended an emotional and poignant vigil in Old Market Square on Thursday (June 15) in memory of the three people who lost their lives. Mr Coates’ grieving sons appeared onstage wearing Forest shirts with ‘RIP Dad’ printed on the back. They were greeted to a chorus of ‘You Reds’ as they stood in front of the large crowds.
One of Mr Coates’ sons, James, thanked everybody for the “kind words” that have poured in about his father. “It feels like he’s touched a lot of hearts over the years, more than what we assumed and knew that he had, so it’s been really nice and heart-warming to see the messages and people come out and talk about how he was when they were younger and how he’s helped them,” he said.
Money can be donated to the fundraiser, set up by Steven Kirk, a friend of Mr Coates who fished alongside him, here. Three others were left injured in an alleged van attack amidst the violence.
The three victims who died will be honoured by cricketers on day one of the men’s Ashes test on Friday (June 16) as police continue to question a suspect, a 31-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the deaths and van attacks.