A 21-year-old footballer collapsed and died during his debut match after joining the team just 24 hours earlier.
The match between fourth-division sides Baltika and Akadem in the Liga 5×5 amateur five-a-side tournament took place on Saturday evening (7 November).
Making his debut for Baltika was Stepan Chernov, who had joined the team just a day earlier.
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He played the first half, which lasted 25 minutes and ended goalless, without any apparent problems.
But in the opening minutes of the second half, his legs suddenly gave way, and he collapsed, as reported by Need To Know.
“Stepan was preparing to make his way to the substitutes’ bench, but his life ended before he could be substituted,” Baltika said in a statement.
Chernov’s close friend Nikita, who had gone to the match to support him, told local media: “I looked over and saw him walking towards the bench rather slowly. Then he fell, and his legs started shaking.
“He tried to get up by himself but couldn’t. He collapsed and died.
“Nobody even knew what to do. We lifted his legs and tried to open his jaw.”
An emergency medical team rushed to the pitch in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and attempted to resuscitate Chernov for around 40 minutes.
However, they were unable to save him.
Chernov was an orphan and had been raised by his grandmother and older sister, Darya, who later revealed that her brother had died from sudden cardiac arrest and heart failure.
She told local media: “My brother always tried to help people.
“Perhaps that’s why so many people are calling now and offering to help with the funeral.
“He played football all his life. He joined a football club when he was about five.
“He never complained about his health. We were messaging before the match, and everything was fine. Then he ‘disappeared’.
“That evening, his friend called me and said, ‘They’re trying to resuscitate Stepan, come over.’
“When I arrived, he was already dead, lying in a body bag in the middle of the pitch.”
Before joining Baltika, Stepan had played for Ural-Kalininets and Knockout.
His funeral will take place in Verkhnyaya Pyshma tomorrow (11 November).
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