THE widow of football legend Tommy Burns has died on a flight home from holiday in Tenerife.
Rosemary Burns took ill on the Jet2 flight from the Canary Island which was due to land in Scotland but was forced to divert and make an emergency landing in Cork yesterday afternoon.
The 69-year-old was married to Celtic star Burns for 28 years before he died in 2008 following a battle with cancer.
Jet2 confirmed that flight LS176 was rerouted due to a passenger falling ill on board on Wednesday, July 3.
Celtic FC led the tributes today, stating: “Everyone at Celtic Football Club is devastated to hear of the passing of Rosemary Burns, wife of Celtic legend Tommy Burns.”
They added: “The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the club, and the entire Celtic Family are with Emma, Jenna, Michael and Jonathan at this desperately sad time.”
Born in Glasgow on December 16, 1956, lifelong Celtic fan Burns often described himself as ‘a supporter who got lucky’.
He made his debut for the club on April 19, 1975 and went on to make 503 appearances, scoring 82 goals.
He won six titles with Celtic, as well as five Scottish Cups and one League Cup and went on to manage the club for three seasons.