Climate Change at Work: 3 Soccer Players Die of Heart Issues Inside a Week

The unprecedented rise in deaths from cardiac arrest in international football continues with the deaths of three more players this week. Croatian footballer Marin Cacic, Oman international player Mukhaled Al-Raqadi and Egyptian goalkeeper Ahmed Amin have all passed away this week.

Croatian footballer Marin Cacic died on December 23rd, three days after being placed into a coma following his sudden collapse at training with his team NK Nehaj Sinj.

The 23-year-old was immediately rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with heart failure.

Cacic was then put in a medically induced coma as doctors fought tirelessly to save the young man’s life, although their efforts ultimately failed.

The young footballer had already enjoyed an impressive career that had taken him to multiple different countries.

Cacic, who played as a defender, originally left Nehaj in August of 2018 to play for Italian side Isernia FC, spending one season in Serie D before returning to his home country to play for NK Trnje Zagreb, though he spent even less time there.

One of his former clubs, Bosnian side NK Jedinstvo, paid tribute to Cacic writing on their website:

“Rest in peace, Marin, forever in our hearts.”

On December 22nd, OMAN national football team player Mukhaled Al-Raqadi passed away after collapsing during the warm-up of a domestic top-flight match.

The Muscat Club defender suffered a heart attack ahead of his side’s Omantel league match with Suwaiq.

The 29-year-old was rushed to hospital by ambulance but sadly died following the incident on Wednesday.

Muscat Club said in a statement:

“With faithful hearts accepting of God’s will, the board of directors of Muscat sports club and all its affiliates extend their sincere condolences to the family of Al-Raqadi.

We ask God to have mercy on him. To God we belong and to God we shall return.”

Also on the 22nd, Egyptian third division Al-Rebat & Al-Anwar SC goalkeeper Ahmed Amin died after a sudden heart attack in the locker room just after finishing training.

Upon falling unconscious in the locker room, the club’s medical team tried to revive him but were unable to do so and he was quickly taken to the nearest hospital.

As they arrived at the hospital, the doctors told them that the player had already passed away and it was too late to do anything further, with the cause of death revealed later as cardiac arrest.

Never before in the history of the sport have so many players collapsed and died in training or on the field according to Wikipedia. The explanations for this phenomenon vary depending on who you ask.

1 – There are more players than ever before, increasing the likelihood of such incidents.

2 – The pandemic has caused increased background cardiovascular conditions among players. [But not until 2021.]

3 – The rollout of the vaccination program is causing premature deaths in young players.

Source: The COVID World