The recent death of a 19-year-old footballer playing in Belgium’s regional leagues has led to calls for stress tests to be introduced at all game levels.
The young man tragically died of a heart attack on the pitch in the middle of a match between Court-Saint-Etienne and Ittre last week, RTBF reports. His death raised the question about the possible improvements that can be made in terms of the prevention and protection of players' health.
"I think parents need to be made aware,” said Benito Marchetto, general coordinator of the Saint-Etienne club. "They could spend €50 for an exercise test certifying that their child is fit to play in a sports club."
For Pierre Nizet, vice-president of the club, imposing a medical examination poses the problem of financing.
"For some families, one euro is a lot of money. Everyone counts their money today. Could the Federation or the ACFF (the association of French-speaking football clubs) cover these costs?"
"But if they do, they will risk underfunding something else. To save a life, it would be necessary to find the money from the budget."
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Meanwhile, the club’s senior coordinator Saïd Albahtouri stressed that "no medical examination can exclude this kind of tragedy."
"International players are medically monitored to a high degree, but some have also collapsed in the middle of a match. This is part of fate and you have to accept it," he said. Tributes will be paid to Ibrahim at games this weekend.
