A goalkeeper suddenly collapsed on the field and declared dead after saving a penalty.
Arne Espeel, a 25-year-old Belgian goalkeeper, passed away unexpectedly after collapsing on the field just after saving a penalty.
The goalkeeper competes for Winkel Sport B in West Brabant, Belgium’s second division.
In addition, according to The Guardian, the team led Westrozebeke 2-1 before the opponent had a penalty. Local reports, according to The Guardian, claimed that Espeel had saved the spot kick but had then fallen to the ground.
When the 25-year-old collapsed, emergency personnel came to his aid and used a defibrillator to try to bring him back to life. He was taken urgently to the hospital but was declared dead there not long after.
The match took place at the Winkel Sport B team’s home field in Sin-Eloois-Winkel, West Flanders.
In addition, the goalkeeper’s club stated following the tragedy.
“Winkel Sport is in very deep mourning over the sudden passing of Arne Espeel,” they stated.
“We extend our sincere condolences to Arne’s family and friends during this difficult time. It comes after football.
More tributes continued to pour in for the novice goalkeeper.
The Daily Mail reports that the team’s assistant Stefaan Dewerchin described the reaction of the locker room to the news.
“The ball was still in play,” he declared. “Our goalkeeper jumped up as quickly as he could to catch the ball, but he then fell.
“Watching it was incredibly unpleasant. Following the incident, everyone on the team took a shower together. It was an unexpectedly harsh blow to learn that our goalkeeper had passed away.
“I believe that some players are still unsure of exactly what happened.”
Espeel’s teammates reportedly honored the goalkeeper at Winkel Sport’s home field by donning the team’s red uniform.
With candles and lanterns arranged in the net, they placed wreaths in front of the goal line that Espeel had collapsed in front of.
In addition to the players, many locals gathered to honor the young goalkeeper.
The cause of death has not yet been made public.
