NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Nisit Yanyongnawakit planned a big party for his beloved Liverpool football team, to celebrate their league championship, but the local Red Army instead marked his cremation.
Some 500 friends, and even the chief of the cremation rite, all wore Red Army kit at Wat Ban Nong Preu in Phimai district on Sunday as they bid their last farewell to Nisit.
"You'll Never Walk Alone", the football club's signature song, was played as mourners went up the steps to lay sandalwood flowers at his coffin.
Thassanee Withchtharatrakul said Nisit's friends wanted to show their respect by celebrating what he loved the most - Liverpool Football Club.
Nisit, 52, had planned a party for his team, which is on track to win the championship for the first time in three decades, but his plans, and his life, were tragically cut short.
Nisit died when his motorcycle hit the rear of a pickup truck parked on the roadside in Prakhon Chai district of Buri Ram on Tuesday. His body was returned to the temple in his home district in Nakhon Ratchasima.
He was a hard-core fan of Liverpool, Ms Thassanee said.
The Reds are poised to win their first English Premier League title. They lead the standings with 73 points, with their closest rival, Manchester City, 22 points behind.
The team are yet to lose this season. They thrashed Southampton 4-0 on Saturday.
Their last championship title was in the 1989-1990 season, when the competition was still the First Division.
"You'll Never Walk Alone", the Liverpool FC signature song, was played at the cremation ceremony for Nisit Yanyongnawakit on Sunday. (Video by Prasit Tangprasert)