Sancho dedicates his goal to Kobe Bryant as football world pays respects to basketball legend

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The NBA idol was one of nine passengers and crew killed on Sunday when their helicopter crashed in California

Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho dedicated his goal to Kobe Bryant on Saturday, joining individuals from across football in paying tribute to the late NBA star. 

Bryant was killed aged 41 last Sunday when his helicopter went down in Calabasas, California. 

As well as the former LA Lakers legend, Bryant’s daughter Gianna, college basketball coach John Altobelli and five other passengers and crew were on board the craft and killed instantly. 

The news plunged the basketball and wider sporting world into mourning, prompting scores of tributes from across the planet. 

And on Saturday, Sancho took the opportunity to pay his respects after scoring in Dortmund’s 5-0 win over Union Berlin. 

The England international held up two and four fingers on each hand, a nod to the 24 jersey Kobe wore at the Lakers and which, along with the 8 he used at the start of his career, have now been retired by the franchise. 

Sancho’s tribute was not the only remembrance of the late star seen in the world of football at the weekend. 

Kobe Bryant tributesKobe Bryant tributes

In Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain held a minute’s silence for Bryant prior to their meeting with Montpellier, with the idol’s name and image shown on the scoreboard. 

Neymar also paid homage, coming out for the pre-match warm-up in a training shirt that read Bryant 24. 

Last Sunday, PSG kicked off away to Lille just hours after the tragic news broke, and Neymar also held up two and four fingers to the camera on scoring having just learned of the tragedy.

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“I went to see the messages on social media at half-time, I saw that Kobe is dead. It is a great sadness for the world of sport, and for all of us. Not just for basketball fans, but also for everything he did for the sport,” Neymar told Canal Plus when asked about Bryant after the game.

“I knew him and I did this celebration to pay tribute to him. And I hope he will rest in peace.”

There was also a minute’s silence held in the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of Real Madrid’s derby at home to Atletico Madrid, won by the hosts with a goal from Karim Benzema.

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