La Liga is in mourning. While Valencia hosted Cadiz this Friday as part of the 16th day of the Spanish championship, a supporter suffered a cardiac arrest in the Mestalla stadium during the warm-up. The man received emergency treatment from the Red Cross in the stands, then was taken care of by the emergency services, who transported him to hospital.
According to the Spanish newspaper Brand, it is on arriving at the health establishment that the supporter would have died. With a few minutes delay, the match still went ahead, but the two clubs did not fail to pay tribute to the supporter following the final whistle.
“Before talking regarding the game, I’m so sorry for the fan who died today. We are all really sorry,” said Gennaro Gattuso, Valencia coach, at a press conference. On its Twitter account, the Cadiz club sent “its condolences to the family and friends of the deceased Valencia fan”. Condolences also shared by the official La Liga account.
Another incident at the start of the season
During the 5th day of the championship, another meeting of Cadiz was also marked by a medical incident in the stands. As the team faced the FC Barcelona, the match had been interrupted regarding fifty minutes in the second half due to the heart attack of a supporter. Cadiz goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma then ran to bring a defibrillator and try to rescue the victim. The Blaugrana defender Ronald Araujo had meanwhile started to pray on the lawn. The supporter, transported to the hospital, had finally regained a stable condition.
This Friday, Cadiz finally won in Valencia thanks to a goal from Ruben Alcaraz (0-1), and took a three-point lead over the red zone. Edinson Cavani and Valencia lose more points in the race for Europe, and are placed six points behind Betis Sevilla, sixth.
