In a sad and tragic news that is emerging from Belgium, goalkeeper Arne Espeel died on the football field after saving a penalty. The incident took place on Saturday.
According to The Independent, Espeel died at the Winkel Sport’s Ground during a football match. The 25-year-old goalkeeper was playing for Winkel Sport B, which is a Belgian football club which plays in the second provincial division of West Brabant in Belgium.
In the second half, his opposition was awarded with a spot kick. Arne Espeel saved the penalty but collapsed on the ground, moments after that. Emergency services rushed into the spot to cater to the custodian and did nearly everything to try and save him.
The services tried to resuscitate him through a defibrillator but it didn’t work out.
But he was declared dead after reaching the hospital. There is no clarity as to why the youngster passed away.
“Winkel Sport is in very deep mourning by the sudden death of Arne Espeel,” the club said in a statement. “We wish family and friends of Arne our heartfelt condolences in this heavy loss. Football is an afterthought,” said the club after Espeel’s death as per Reuters.
“This is a disaster and a shock to everyone. Arne had been with the club all his life and was very loved. He was a wonderfully sympathetic boy, always in a good mood and ready to help. This is really a heavy blow. First of all for his family and also our whole club,” said Mr. Patrick Rotsaert, who is the sporting director of Winkel.
As per reports in the media houses of Belgium, over 1000 people turned up in Sint-Eloois-Winkel, which is a village in West Flanders, to pay tribute to the goalkeeper.
This shocking demise sent shockwaves around the footballing community of the world and urged everyone to live life to the fullest. Life is extremely fickle and is quite unpredictable. Some social media users also took to social media to say that Arne Espeel’s death was a result of the side-effects of Covid-19 vaccinations.
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