Guard of honour tribute to young Stoke City fan

Footballers are set to pay tribute to a boy who died from a rare skin disorder.

Fourteen-year-old Rafe Lawton, from Talke, in Staffordshire, died in July after he was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

His father Chris Lawton said he was a huge Stoke City fan and a "tremendously talented" boy.

Rafe's former team members will form a guard of honour at The Potters' home game against Hull City on Sunday.

Kidsgrove Saints & Alsager FC will take part in the tribute ahead of the teams walking out.

A video of one of Rafe's free kicks will also be shown at the bet365 stadium.

Mr Lawton also called on fans to keep his son in their thoughts.

"I don't want him to be where he's mentioned once a day then he's forgotten about - I refuse to let that happen," he said.

In February 2022, Rafe fell ill after developing a skin rash and was later admitted to Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool.

He was not able to breathe without a ventilator and his parents made the decision to turn off his life support machine 18 months later.

"He was a big piece of the jigsaw to my family life, he was an absolute treasure," Mr Lawton said.

"He loved his football and he was tremendously talented because basically he could hit the ball with both of his feet.

"If all the people out there [from] Stoke and Hull and all around can just think of my son for a minute that would be absolutely fantastic."

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