Tragedy at CL match

Heart attack! Death overshadows Bayern victory

FC Bayern's victory was overshadowed by a death.

(Bild: AFP/APA/Tobias SCHWARZ)

FC Bayern's 1:0 victory over Benfica Lisbon on Wednesday evening was overshadowed by a tragic death. A Munich fan suffered a heart attack at the start of the match and died on the way to hospital.

"A medical emergency in the stands of the Allianz Arena overshadowed the match right from the start. Out of consideration, the Südkurve refrained from the usual vociferous support for their team, and the club also reduced its coverage of the match. Around an hour after the final whistle, the German record champions received the sad news that the fan had died on the way to hospital. FC Bayern is in mourning at the side of the relatives," the Bundesliga club announced on Thursday night.

Died in the ambulance
According to the German newspaper "Bild", the fan was an elderly man who suffered a heart attack in block 226. Resuscitation attempts by the paramedics who rushed to the scene were unsuccessful and the fan died before arriving at the hospital.

"It's difficult to talk about soccer at the moment. We didn't celebrate after the game like we normally do. Of course, the lads only found out after the game. We always hope that our fans and all the fans go home healthy. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case today," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany after the final whistle, commenting on the sad news. 

We always hope that our fans and all the fans go home safe and sound. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case today.

Vincent Kompany

Bild: AFP/APA/Tobias SCHWARZ

"A nice sign of solidarity"
Thomas Müller also expressed his sadness in the interview. "I think we saw right before kick-off what would have been possible in terms of atmosphere. The whole group in the south curve was jumping. But of course, when something like that happens, it's also a nice sign of solidarity that the fans don't put their own party first, but show a bit of humanity," said the veteran with empathy.