Player booked for diving - but was dying

[TOPGUNJIMMYAUFC]

Player booked for diving - but was dying


By staff writers From: mX May 07, 2010 2:08PM

A SOCCER player booked by a hardline referee for diving had in fact died of a heart attack.

Goran Tunjic, a 32-year-old defender playing for Croatian side Mladost, collapsed and fell to the ground after being tackled in the 35th minute of a game against local rivals Hrvatski Sokola.

The no-nonsense referee, who had warned the teams in their dressing rooms before kick-off that he would deal firmly with any play-acting, promptly strode across the pitch to the prone player and waved a yellow card at him.

The Sokola supporters cheered but players who had gathered around saw Tunjic was in serious trouble.

The referee realised his mistake and called for medical aid. Tunjic was taken off the field on a stretcher and to hospital.

He was declared dead on arrival, with doctors saying he had died on the pitch from a massive heart attack.
"Doctors tried to help him but there was nothing they could do," a club spokesman said of the player, who had no previous medical problems.

"He just fell dead on the spot."

The game was abandoned, with the score at 0-0.

It is not the first time a player has died on a soccer pitch, with another well-known case being the death of Premier League player Marc-Vivien Foe in 2003.

At age 28, he was playing for his home country Cameroon in the FIFA Confederations Cup, and in the 72nd minute of the televised semi-final against Colombia, being played in Lyon, France, he collapsed and died in the centre-circle.

A post-mortem revealed he had died of a rare heart condition that is known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise.

David Longhurst, 25, of York City also collapsed with a heart attack and died on the pitch during his team's match with Lincoln City n September 1990.

The game was abandoned and York City later paid tribute to Longhurst by naming a stand in his honour.

[Red-4-Life]

thats tragic, how come so many football players seem to be collapsing out on the field these days

[Club Referee]

Already a thread. You only missed out by twenty four hours Jimmy.