A footballer has tragically died aged 21 after suffering a heart attack during a match in the Ivorian top flight.
Moustapha Sylla collapsed on the pitch when his club, Racing Club d'Abidjan, faced SOL FC in a league game on Sunday which they eventually won 3-1. Harrowing video footage from the Ivory Coast shows the left-sided defender taking several steps backwards before losing his balance and dropping down near the centre-circle.
Frightened team-mates and opposition players immediately called for the referee to stop the game. Club president Logossina Cisse confirmed to AFP that the 21-year-old had sadly died in an ambulance as emergency services rushed to try and save his life. "During his evacuation to the hospital, Moustapha died," Cisse said. "He arrived at the club last September and was only 21."
