An investigation into the death of Cameroun midfielder Patrick Ekeng who died after he collapsing on the field in Romanian league match between Dinamo Bucharest and Viitorul has revealed that the player could have survived.
Ekeng was pronounced dead in hospital two hours after he was rushed to the hospital. The 26 year old is suspected to have suffered heart attack.
There are indications that the ambulance on ground lacked defibrillator which could have been used on the player to resuscitate him.
However, Romania Footballers Association chairman Emilian Hulubei, believes clubs in the country are not doing enough to protect their players by providing quality emergency services.
“It would have cost as little as 400 euros per club per match to have state-of-the-art equipment available but the plan was not adopted, he noted.
“We are continually fighting for more rights for players. Footballers in Romania are a long way from being treated the way normal workers should be.”
A Nigerian, Henry Chinonso Ihelewere had suffered a cardiac arrest during a friendly match in August 2012 and died, we hope this would be taken seriously by all the league bodies in the world to avert such occurrence.
