Instead of wearing black to mourn, goalkeepers across Spain’s La Liga wore black in matches this weekend to celebrate one of the country’s most famous netminders on his 80th birthday.
Spanish club Athletic Bilbao invited goalkeepers from clubs in their own country and across the world to wear black kits this weekend to honour José Ángel Iribar, who turned 80 on March 1. Iribar appeared in 614 matches over 18 seasons with Bilbao, and also played for the Spanish national team in the 1964 Nations Cup and the 1966 World Cup.
Iribar — who earned the nickname “Txopo” (“Poplar”) for his towering presence between the goalposts — famously wore black kits during his time with Bilbao.
La Liga and the Spanish Technical Committee of Referees both granted permission for both goalkeepers in La Liga matches over the weekend to wear black.
Prior to this weekend’s matches, La Liga goalkeepers posed for photos with each other wearing black kits. Some only wore black for pre-game festivities, then wore a different colour during the actual match. Here’s a look at all the goalkeepers:
Álex Remiro of Cádiz CF (left) and Conan of Real Sociedad (right). 
Paulo Gazzaniga of Girona FC (left) and David Soria of Getafe CF (right). 
Fernando of UD Almería (left) and Pepe Reina of Villarreal CF (right). 
Predrag Rajkovic of RCD Mallorca (left) and Edgar Badia of Elche CF (right). 
Bono of Sevilla FC (left) and Jan Oblak of Atlético de Madrid (right). 
Sergio Asenjo of Real Valladolid CF (left) and Fernando Pacheco of RCD Espanyol (right). 
Marc Andre ter Stegen of FC Barcelona (left) and Giorgi Mamardashvili of Valencia CF (right). 
Stole Dimitrievski of Rayo Vallecano (left) and Julen Agirrezabala of Athletic Bilbao (right). 
Claudio Bravo of Real Betis (left) and Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid (right). 
Iván Villar of RC Celta de Vigo (left) and Aitor Fernández of CA Osasuna (right).
Athletic Bilbao players also wore special warmup shirts with Iribar’s name and the number 1 printed on the back.
Meanwhile, goalkeepers in other European leagues joined the tribute. For example, in England, Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (a former Bilbao player) wore a black kit in warmups before their match against Leeds United with Iribar’s name and the number 80.
Aside from his stellar play on the pitch, Iribar also became known for his outspoken support of the Basque people. Before a game in December 1976 — about a year after the death of dictator Francisco Franco — Iribar and Real Sociedad captain Inaxio Kortabarria carried a Basque flag, the Ikkuriña, to the centre circle of the Atotxa Stadium in San Sebastián. Publicly displaying the flag had been illegal under Franco’s rule, and technically still was when the game between the two Basque Country sides was played. But thanks in part to this display, the Ikkuriña was legalized in January 1977. Today, versions of it are still prominently displayed on Bilbao’s and Sociedad’s kits.
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