Scotland supporters hold minute’s applause in memory of Alex Salmond

Scotland supporters held a minute’s applause for the late Alex Salmond ahead of the Nations League match against Portugal.

The Tartan Army paid tribute to the former first minister who died on Saturday afternoon in North Macedonia from a heart attack.

The 69-year-old had made a speech at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Forum in the city of Ohrid before collapsing at lunch in a crowded room.

The former SNP leader – who led Scotland from 2007 until 2014 – was a regular member of the Tartan Army and attended the Euros in Germany during the summer.

Members of the public place flowers outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh after Alex Salmond’s death. PA Media

News of his death reached the UK during Scotland’s match against Croatia in Zagreb.

The Scottish Football Association sent condolences to Salmond’s family at the weekend.

Steve Clarke’s side are taking on Cristiano Ronaldo’s team at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Tuesday evening for the Nations League showdown.

The Scottish and UK governments are working with authorities in North Macedonia to repatriate Salmond’s body.

A top aide to the organiser of the conference where the Alba leader died has said a “special flight” will return him to Scotland.

Chris McEleny, the general secretary of Alba, said talks had been ongoing about using the RAF to bring Salmond’s body back to Scotland, something usually only reserved for the royal family.

The UK Foreign Office has said it is providing consular support to Salmond’s family.

Salmond had led the SNP during the 1990s and then again from 2004 to 2014.

He oversaw a surge in SNP support from a minor party to the one that has governed Scotland since 2007.

He secured the deal with David Cameron on the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 in which 55% of the public voted to remain.

However, Salmond resigned after the plebiscite and was succeeded by Nicola Sturgeon.

The former first minister had a bitter falling out with Ms Sturgeon and quit the SNP in 2018 following allegations of sexual offences against several women.

He would later be cleared in the High Court of all offences and would accuse figures in the Scottish government and SNP of a plot against him, which they denied.

The former first minister had launched a second legal action against the Scottish Government – after a judge ruled the probe into two harassment complaints against him was “tainted with apparent bias” and awarded him more than £500,000 in 2019 – accusing senior figures, including Ms Sturgeon and former permanent secretary Leslie Evans, of “misfeasance”.

According to the acting leader of the Alba Party – and a lifelong friend of Salmond – Kenny MacAskill, the action can still be taken forward by the former first minister’s family, a move which he supported.