Death on the football field in recent years, unfortunately, is no longer uncommon. One of the most recent high-profile cases occurred with the footballer of the English club Tottenham Fabrice Muamba on March 17, 2012 in a match against Bolton for the English Cup. In the 42nd minute of the match, the player had a heart attack. The doctors managed to save the guy, but he had to tie up with football forever. Further, in chronological order, ten worst cases are presented, as a result of which the players themselves died on the football field.
In 1977, the player of the Italian team of Perugia Renato Curi in a match against Juventus rushed for the ball that the game was introduced by a throw-in, after which he unexpectedly collapsed onto the lawn, from where it didn’t rise anymore. All attempts to bring the guy back to life did not lead to success. This was the first death of a player on the football field of all registered. Based on the autopsy, it was concluded that a player who was only 24 years old had a heart attack due to his chronic heart problems.
Eric Jongblad in 1984 died during a match for the ICE Amsterdam team. The cause of the tragedy that happened at the very end of the fight was a lightning strike.
Nigerian footballer Samuel Okvaraji came to his native country only to participate in the games of the national team. In 1989, he was called up for a duel against Angola. About ten minutes before the end of the meeting, Samuel fell in the middle of the field and died of heart failure.
In 2001, death on the football field overtook one of the most promising Ukrainian goalkeepers Sergei Perkhun, who at that time played for the Moscow club CSKA. The tragic event occurred in the match of the Russian championship against Anzhi from Makhachkala. After a collision with an opponent's striker Budun Budunov, it initially seemed that the goalkeeper had a concussion, but on the way to the hospital his condition worsened, and after another ten minutes he died.
Thousands of fans at the stadium and millions of television viewers watched the death of Cameroonian midfielder Mark-Vivienne Foe during the 2003
Confederations Cup match against Colombia. Twenty minutes before the end of the meeting, the player’s heart stopped, and the doctors’ attempts to launch him turned out to be futile.
In January 2004, during the Portuguese championship match between Benfica and Victoria Guimaraes, the hosts' striker, Hungarian striker Miklos Feher, received a yellow card for breaking the rules, after which he smiled and collapsed on the lawn. Despite the fact that the doctors managed to start the heart, it stopped forever in the hospital.
Antonio Puerta, who at that time was only 22 years old, was considered one of the most talented players in Spain. In 2007, during his Sevilla match against Getafe, the defender felt bad at the 35th minute of the game, after which he fell on the lawn. Doctors and other players managed to save the player, and he even left the field on his feet. Unfortunately, in the locker room he had another heart attack and Antonio died three days later.
The next resonant death on the football field occurred in 2007 with the Scotsman Phil O'Donnell. After he scored the winning goal for his Motherwell and ran to celebrate, he became ill. Footballer passed away in the hospital.
In 2009, Czech defender Michal Ezek became the author of an own goal. When he remained lying on the grass, everyone thought that the player was simply disappointed, but after a few seconds it turned out that this was another tragedy with the player.
Croatian defender Goran Tunic died in 2010 as a result of a collision with an opponent in a local championship match. Then the referee thought it was a simulation, and even showed the player a yellow card to the football player. A few minutes later, the doctors arrived in time to conclude that he had a heart attack.
This is only a dozen tragedies. No matter how sad it may be, in recent years, death on football fields has been happening more and more. In total, more than 60 resonant cases were registered, and how many remained unknown, one can only guess.