A BURNLEY-mad bridegroom had his very own Match Of The Day when he tied the knot at his beloved Turf Moor in full football kit.
Dean Routh donned the club’s striking yellow away strip — shirt, shorts and socks — as he wed fiancee Toni Brown, who was in a blue dress.
His groomsmen were in the club’s home kit.
The 37-year-old, from Harle Syke, also went a step further by shaving the initials ‘BFC’ into his head for the big day.
More than 70 family and friends attended the ceremony in the James Hargreaves Suite.
Dean, an unemployed painter and decorator, said he had little trouble championing the idea of a football-themed wedding to his bride.
He said: “The whole day went brilliantly and I must say Toni has been very tolerant. She didn’t take too much persuading.
“I said I’d get married on the condition that I could wear the kit and have it in the stadium and she didn’t mind.
“The idea was to show my dedication to Burnley and do something a bit different and everything went to plan.
“I played on Turf Moor as a school kid but I never dreamed that I’d marry the woman I love there. It was definitely the best day of my life.”
Dean’s dedication extends beyond the wedding.
His 12-year-old son from a former relationship is called Payton - named after former Burnley hitman Andy.
Toni, from Barnoldswick, where the couple live, is a full-time carer for her son David Hall, who has cystic fibrosis.
Amazingly, despite the location of her big day she claims she has no interest in football.
She said: “We’re not traditional people. A church do didn’t appeal to us and this was something Dean felt passionately about and the whole day was fantastic.”
Dean, who lists Billy Hamilton, Payton and recently-departed Jay Rodriguez as his all-time Burnley idols, kicked off his love affair with the Clarets in the 1980s, attending games with his dad Bob and getting his first season ticket in 1983.
Representatives from the club topped off his day when they presented him with a shirt signed by the current squad.
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