Fan dies after match abandoned

05 May 2013 21:49
A man who collapsed at the SPL match between Kilmarnock and Hibernian, leading to it being abandoned, has died in hospital. The man, aged in his 50s, collapsed with a suspected heart attack in Rugby Park's East Stand five minutes into the second half of Kilmarnock's home match against Hibs. He was treated by paramedics and medical staff from both clubs before an ambulance drove pitchside to transfer him to nearby Crosshouse hospital. The match was stopped by referee Kevin Clancy with the teams drawing 1-1 and the players left the pitch as the seriousness of the situation became clear. Both managers agreed the match should be abandoned out of respect to the fan and his family. A Police Scotland spokesman confirmed on Sunday night that the man died in hospital. It is the third time in just over a year that a fan has been taken seriously ill at a Kilmarnock match. In March 2012 the Ayrshire team's League Cup-winning celebrations were cut short by the death of midfielder Liam Kelly's father at the match. Jack Kelly was rushed to hospital after Kilmarnock's victory over Celtic at Hampden but he died within hours of the final whistle. A month later an Inverness fan collapsed and died midway through the second half of a game against Kilmarnock. Speaking at the end of the game Killie manager Kenny Shiels said: "As you know we have been through that three times in just over a year. An Inverness fan lost his life and then Liam Kelly's father. "Football is not as important as human life so we have shown our respect and hopefully everything turns out okay. "I heard the supporters shouting to kick the ball out and then we have seen our medical team going across and we found out what it was. "The fourth official came and told me we need to stop the game. It seems to be pretty serious, a heart attack we were told. "We waited a while to see if they could bring him round and continue the game but obviously it was quite serious so Pat Fenlon (Hibernian manager) and I both agreed that the game should be abandoned."

Source: team_talk