Football is not more important than life

Yesterday’s sad events at White Hart Lane really did put football into perspective.

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed during Bolton’s FA Cup clash with Tottenham and had to be resuscitated on the pitch.

The 23 year-old had suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital.

Critical

The former-Birmingham midfielder is still in intensive care and his condition has been described as critical.

Bolton released a statement which read: “Fabrice Muamba remains in a critical condition in intensive care in the Heart Attack Centre at The London Chest Hospital.

“He was admitted to the hospital yesterday evening after collapsing at White Hart Lane, where he sustained a cardiac arrest during the FA Cup Quarter Final against Tottenham Hotspur.

“Fabrice received prolonged resuscitation at the ground and on route to The London Chest Hospital, where his heart eventually started working. As is normal medical practice, Fabrice remains anaesthetised in intensive care and will be for at least 24 hours. His condition continues to be closely monitored by the cardiac specialists at the hospital.”

Sad

The whole situation is a sad one. It seems that as soon as the midfielder went down everybody knew that something serious had happened to the young midfielder. You could see it in the eyes of everybody involved that it was an overwhelming incident.

The players obviously realised the seriousness of the situation and were deeply affected by Fabrice’s collapse. It was a truly terrible moment.

Fans

The fans of both teams should be given immense credit for their behaviour, especially the Tottenham fans. It’s a time when football allegiances are forgotten and people come together as one. They realised as one that Fabrice Muamba was in a serious way and responded with support and care.

Fans of clubs around the world have came together in support of Fabrice in his time of need. The support that has been shown from around the world really does show football in a more positive light. Football is often criticised for the negatives that go on but the fans really have shown their dignity and respect for a fellow human being.

Perspective

Incidents like this just puts football into perspective. The game maybe important to most of but it’s not more important than life or death, as the great Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said. I just hope that Fabrice Muamba makes a full recovery from this and goes on to live a full life.

Similar

This incident was similar to that of former-West Ham midfielder Marc Vivien-Foe, who collapsed on the pitch in similar circumstances, not unlikely that of Fabrice Muamba while playing for Cameroon. Sadly Foe passed away, I just hope there is a different outcome for the Bolton player. Foe passing away at just 28 years of age really was a tragedy.

Thoughts

I speak for everybody at Soccernews when I say our thoughts are with Fabrice, his family and friends. We wish him all the best and hope that he gets through this terrible incident and makes a full recovery. Good luck Fabrice.

Please leave your messages of support for Fabrice Muamba in the comments section