Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira pull out of charity match at Old Trafford after Paris terrorist attacks

Zidane and Vieira will not play a part in the charity match

After the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night, former France internationals Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira have withdrawn from participating in the charity match that will be played on Sunday. Both the former French midfielders were initially named in the Rest of the World team that would take on a Great Britain and Ireland team at Manchester United’s Old Trafford at 3 PM local time.

Portugal legend Luis Figo will replace Zidane as the captain of the Rest of the World team while his former Real Madrid teammate and United legend David Beckham will lead the Great Britan and Ireland XI.

Manchester United released a statement on their official website ahead of the game today.

Our sincerest condolences go out to those affected by last night's tragedy and our thoughts are with the citizens of Paris.

Following last night's terrorist attacks, Manchester United and the organisers of today's UNICEF Match For Children have been in consultation with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the decision has been made for today's game to go ahead as planned.

As a precautionary measure, the club and GMP will be implementing extra security procedures, and as with any matchday, the safety of fans is the utmost priority.

We ask fans attending the game to arrive early and NOT to bring a bag to the stadium unless it is absolutely necessary. As with normal matchday security procedures, all bags will be searched, which may cause a delay in entering the stadium. We thank fans for their patience during this time.

Teams announced for the UNICEF charity match

The two teams that will take the field at Old Trafford were announced earlier today.

Great Britain & Ireland XI: David James, Jamie Carragher, John Terry, Sol Campbell, Phil Neville, David Beckham (C), Nicky Butt, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Peter Crouch.

Substitutes: David Seaman, Ashley Cole, Trevor Sinclair, Gary McAllister, Alan Smith, Michael Owen

Rest of the World XI: Edwin van der Sar, Cafu, Fernando Couto, Mikael Silvestre, Luis Figo (C), Clarence Seedorf, Robert Pires, Park Ji-sung, Ronaldinho, Patrick Kluivert, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Substitutes: Raimond van der Gouw, Fernando Hierro, Landon Donovan, Dwight Yorke

Earlier, David Beckham had said how great it was that so many great footballers would be taking part in this game, according to Mirror.

“It’s incredible that we’re going to be bringing so many of the world’s greatest footballers together under one roof for this match,” Beckham said.

“It's a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness and vital funds for Unicef to help improve the lives of children across the world.”