A SPECIAL flag will be displayed at Forest Green’s match against Oldham Athletic on Saturday, August 11.

The match will be FGR’s first league game of the new season at the New Lawn and the visitors will be bringing a flag in tribute of former player Ernie Cooksey.

Cooksey died of Maligant Melanoma, a severe form of skin cancer, in July 2008 at the age of 28. The flag is taken to every Oldham game and a number of other events to raise awareness and promote the fight against the disease which killed him.

The flag is a replacement of the original flag which was stolen when Oldham fans were assaulted at the Spain v England friendly in Seville in 2009. The replacement flag was purchased from donations made by Latics supporters.

Erniebegan his career as a trainee at Colchester United and then played non-league football at Crawley Town and Chesham United. His break came in 2003, when he joined Oldham to turn professional, and then went on to play for Rochdale, Boston United and Grays Athletic. Cooksey scored six goals in 40 matches for Oldham during the 2003-04 season and is admired by fans. Ernie died less than a month before the birth of his only child. Malignant Melanoma is diagnosed in over 8,000 people in the UK each year.

To find out more visit ernieflag.co.uk