25 Year Old Goalkeeper Dies Suddenly During Soccer Game

Arne Espeel, a 25 year old goalkeeper for a team called ‘Winkel Sport B’ died suddenly during a match against Westrozebeke in Belgium on Saturday night.

Espeel reportedly stopped a penalty kick in the second half and immediately collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Assistant coach Stefaan Dewerchin of Winkel Sport B had this to say about the event…

“The ball was still in play,”

“Our goalkeeper got up as quickly as possible to get the ball, but he fell down afterwards. It was really terrible to see.”

Stefaan Dewerchin of Winkel Sport B

A local news outlet in Belgium had this to say about what transpired…

The disbelief is great and the sadness immense at the West Flemish amateur club Winkel Sint-Eloois. The club plays in the first national but also has a B team in the second provincial. All young friends from the municipality who have been playing together since childhood. On Saturday evening, the team received Westrozebeke at 6 PM. After 45 minutes the score was 2-1 and after fifteen minutes into the second half there was a penalty for the visitors. Home goalkeeper Arne Espeel stopped Mohammed El Baghdadi’s penalty kick and shouted yes when he suddenly went down again. He was shaking and no one quite knew what was happening. When Espeel remained lying down, the seriousness of the situation was seen and the first care was given to him. The emergency services also arrived on site and did everything possible with, among other things, a defibrillator, but the help was to no avail.

His younger brother Aaron (20) sat back on the bench for the first time in weeks after an injury and saw everything happen before his eyes.

“This is a disaster and a shock to everyone,” said Patrick Rotsaert, sports manager of Winkel.

“Arne had been with the club all his life and was very loved. He was a wonderfully sympathetic boy, always in a good mood and willing to help. This is really a heavy blow. First of all for his family and also our entire club.”

Naturally, the match was stopped.

https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20230211_97756780

This situation bears a striking resemblance to that of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Play was stopped, the only difference being that Espeel did not survive.

Why do so many athletes continue to die suddenly?