John Swinney has paid tribute to Denis Law as ‘one of Scotland’s greatest sons’ after the Manchester United and Scotland great’s death at the age of 84.
The First Minister and veteran broadcaster Hugh Keevins remembered the Aberdeen-born striker as “outstanding” and “a panther in the penalty box.”
Law, known as ‘The King’, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia in 2021, and his family announced his death on Friday evening.
Swinney told STV News: “Scotland has lost one of our greatest sons and one of our superstars.
“Denis Law had an incredible footballing career. He delivered some of the most outstanding performances ever to be delivered for Scotland, an incredible goalscorer, but he was also an incredibly humble man as well.”
SNS Group
STV NewsLaw – who scored 237 goals in 404 appearances for United – is the only player to have two statues dedicated to him at Old Trafford, one on the Stretford End concourse and the other as part of the ‘United Trinity’ outside the stadium alongside fellow greats George Best and Bobby Charlton.
He also remains the only Scottish player to have won a Ballon d’Or, which he was awarded in 1964.
Keevins, 75, helped write Law’s column in a newspaper in the 1970s.
He said: “I can tell you that Denis cornered the market in charisma. He lit up every room he ever entered, he fired up every team he ever entered and every pitch he played on.
“Denis Law came to Manchester United in 1962 and he captured the spirit of the times. It was the time of The Beatles, the Swinging Sixties, and there was Denis – all blonde hair, charisma and a panther in the penalty box.
“He was the one who got everyone fired up for football in Scotland because we’d never seen anything like him.”
STV News
ITVMark Williams, chief operating officer of the Denis Law Legacy Trust, said: “Denis’ name will always be associated with Aberdeen and the Denis Law Legacy Trust.
“What he did with us over the years has been fantastic. It’s helped set up free to access facilities all across Aberdeen, free programmes and we have our own Denis Law Academy.
“So much has happened with Denis – and so much will continue to happen for Denis.”
Law, who started his career at Huddersfield and also played for Manchester City and Torino, made his senior Scotland debut aged 18 in 1958 and was capped 55 times.
With 30 goals he remains joint record scorer for Scotland alongside Sir Kenny Dalglish, who also paid tribute.
“Thoughts are with Denis Law’s family. Thanks for the great memories. My hero,” said Dalglish, replying to Sky Sports’ tribute on X in which former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Law as “the greatest Scottish player of all time”.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
