Footballer collapses on-pitch, dies in friendly against Kelantan
The match in Malaysia had just started when Nigerian defender David Oniya collapsed on the pitch and died suddenly.
He had played just a few minutes of a local friendly on Saturday, reports said.
The 30-year-old captain of Terengganu's T-Team went down about three minutes into the game. He was pronounced dead at hospital around half-an-hour later, the club’s chief executive told The Star Online.
T-Team's Facebook page showed pictures of Oniya being treated on the field and then later transferred to a waiting ambulance.
T-Team chief executive officer Syahrizan Mohd Zain said Oniya, who was in his first season with the second-tier T-Team, had barely touched the ball.
The friendly with Super League side Kelantan in Kota Bharu "was a slow tempo match", Syahrizan said. “There was no hard running.
“The match was called off in the 60th minute when we received a call from the hospital that Oniya had died.”
Oniya's cause of death is still unclear.
T-Team put up a Facebook post announcing his death of Oniya and extended their condolences to his family and friends.
It was not the only incident that shocked people that night.
Their defender Faizal Mohamad was rushed to the hospital after suffering a head injury.
The Star Online later reported that his condition was not serious.
Sources: The Star Online, Facebook
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