However , a couple of weeks after the Blackpool game , Hawksworth was approached by an army captain who wanted him to play for the regimental team the following weekend . Hawksworth was intent on playing for Manchester United , but the captain – who was also the posting officer for the regiment – threatened him with redeployment to Benghazi by the following Monday . It is unknown whether the captain 's threat was serious or not , but Hawksworth was in no position to argue ; nevertheless , he took the matter to United manager Matt Busby , but Busby recommended that Hawksworth play for the regiment . By 1958 , Hawksworth had been posted to the Royal Tank Regiment in Germany . That February , a plane carrying the Manchester United team home from a European Cup match in Belgrade made a stopover in snowy conditions in Munich . In an incident that later became known as the Munich air disaster , the plane crashed on a failed take-off attempt , and eight players were killed . As he was already in Germany , Hawksworth requested leave , and two weeks after the incident , he was able to visit his friends and former teammates ; he arrived at Munich on the night that Duncan Edwards died
Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
Tony Hawksworth