Coronavirus: Radhi dead, football star in Iraq

Iraqi football legend Ahmed Radhi died of complications related to COVID-19. The ministry of health of Iraq has announced it.
    Radhi, 56, scored what remains the only Iraqi World Cup goal in 1986 against Belgium. He had been hospitalized last week in Baghdad after being tested positive for the coronavirus, Thursday his condition seemed to have improved. Then the situation worsened again and was about to be transported to a hospital in Amman in Jordan, but he died in the night.
    Radhi, the attacking role, led Iraq to the 1984 and 1988 Gulf Cup victories, when he was voted the Asian footballer of the year. In the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, he scored against Belgium, but Iraq lost 2-1 and was eliminated from the group stage without a point.
    In 2006 the former footballer fled Iraq after his Olympic Committee chief was kidnapped during the height of sectarian violence that followed the 2003 US-led invasion. Radhi moved with his family to the Jordanian capital Amman, but returned to Iraq in 2007 embarking on a career in politics. He ran unsuccessfully in the 2014 and 2018 elections with the National Alliance, a coalition of Sunni and Shiite figures. "With great sadness we mourn our partner, the burning star of our fans, the unrivaled athlete and son of Iraq, Ahmed Radhi," said Iraqi new sports minister Adnan Darjal, himself a former footballer.