FC Noswendel Wadern mourns the loss of its stadium announcer. © Screenshot: FC Noswendel Wadern/Facebook/Roessler/dpa
In the relegation match for promotion to the Saarlandliga, tragedy occurs. The game had to be abandoned.
Wadern – Great sadness in Saarland football. A tragic incident occurred during the relegation match for promotion to the Saarlandliga between 1st FC Reimsbach and SG Marpingen-Urexweiler. The 73-year-old stadium announcer from the organizing club FC Noswendel-Wadern suddenly collapsed and later died in hospital. The game was abandoned.
Stadium announcer collapses – match has to be abandoned
As reported by Bild, around 1200 spectators attended the game last Friday evening. Shortly after kick-off, the 73-year-old stadium announcer collapsed, and the German Red Cross immediately initiated rescue measures. But unfortunately any help came too late, he died in the evening in a clinic. The referee stopped the game after about 34 minutes of play, after which it was decided to stop.
"We are still deeply saddened by the tragic death of our sports comrade. Despite the quick help, his life could not be saved. We express our deepest sympathy to his family, friends and FC Noswendel-Waden. The whole Saarland football family mourns him," Josef Kreis, chairman of the association's match committee, is quoted as saying in Bild.
Club shocked after death of stadium announcer
On Saturday, FC Noswendel-Wadern made its grief public on Facebook: "Unfortunately, the 'voice of FC' fell silent last night. Take care dear sports friend, we will miss you." For this purpose, the association posted a picture with the seat of the deceased, on which lies a white rose with a black bow.
Eugen Müller, chairman of FC Noswendel-Wadern, told Bild: "It was a shock, I'm still at a loss for words. He made the announcement and suddenly he tipped over." He had lived the club. "He was very committed, always there, always had an ear for the concerns of the club," he said.
Despite the shock for everyone present on Friday, the game will have to be repeated. The match will take place on 6 June – on a different pitch. A drama also occurred in Belgian amateur football, a goalkeeper collapsed after a saved penalty and died. (msb)
