After suffering a heart attack while celebrating his team’s stoppage-time triumph, an Egyptian football manager died at the age of 53. El Magd of Adham El-Selhadar scored in the second minute of added time in a 1-0 win over El Zarqa in an Egyptian Second League match on Thursday.
The goal ignited joyous celebrations, but the atmosphere immediately changed when El-Selhadar suffered a heart attack and was transported to the hospital shortly after. Following his passing, two of Egypt’s most prestigious clubs led the honors to the late coach.
Ismaily SC – who El Selhadar used to manage – wrote in a statement: ‘The Ismaily Board of Directors, headed by Engineer Yahya El-Komy, mourns the death of Adham El-Selhadar, a star and former coach of the team, who passed away as a result of a sudden heart attack, following his team’s match, ‘El-Majd’ Alexandria, in the second division league competitions.
‘Against this background, the Board of Directors has declared three days of mourning for the passing of his soul.’
Their rivals Al Ahly also paid tribute to El-Selhadar as their statement read: ‘Captain Mahmoud Al-Khatib, president of the club, and the members of the board of directors, mourn with great sadness and sorrow, Coach Adham El-Selhadar, the former Ismaily player, who passed away on Thursday.
‘Praying to the Almighty to cover the deceased with his vast mercy and enter him into his vast gardens.’
El Magd has also declared a six-day mourning period, with their next match against Pioneers FC being postponed. El-Selhadar had a successful playing career with Ismaily, winning the Egyptian Premier League and the Egyptian Cup.
He won the Egyptian Premier League and the Egyptian Cup with Ismaily in the 1990s. He eventually returned to the club as a manager, quickly establishing himself as one of the country’s most recognized coaches.
The incident is the most recent in a string of recent heart-related incidents at football grounds. Watford’s match against Chelsea was recently abruptly halted after a fan fainted due to cardiac arrest.
A similar occurrence occurred during Newcastle’s match against Tottenham in October when a spectator suffered a heart arrest. The spectators were later reported to be stable after receiving care from medical personnel in the stadium on both occasions.
In recent years, several players have suffered from heart ailments. Charlie Wyke, 28, of Wigan, fell in training after suffering a cardiac arrest, while Sergio Aguero, 33, of Barcelona, was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia after being taken off with chest symptoms in a 1-1 draw with Alaves last month.
Read- Arsenal v Chelsea: FA Women’s Cup Final at Wembley | 6 Players to Look out for
