FOOTBALLERS have paid homage to a match between German and Allied soldiers that took place on the Western Front on Christmas Day 1914.

Players from Ramsey Mill and Marks Tey Football Clubs dedicated their last match to the event, rumoured to have taken place 100 years ago in the First World War.

Truces along the battlelines in France on Christmas Day are well documented. Soldiers climbed from their trenches, shook hands, chatted and exchanged refreshments.

They also sang Christmas carols and played music, and some accounts say friendly football matches took place in No Man’s Land between to the two sides.

Rob Passmore, manager of Ramsey Mill, dressed in a British First World War uniform from Dan’s Medal Mounting Service in Colchester, shook hands with fellow player Joe Upson, dressed in a German First World War uniform, before the match.