The league match between Granada and Athletic Bilbao was abandoned on Sunday following the death of a fan. An elderly man had suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands
Granada FC confirmed this early on Sunday evening via X (formerly Twitter). “The entire Granada family would like to express their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” read the post, which was joined by Athletic Bilbao, the Spanish league and numerous clubs.
The game between the relegation-threatened Andalusians and the Basques, who are fighting for Europe, was initially interrupted after just over 17 minutes at 1-0 after Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon drew the referee’s attention to the situation. The game was then interrupted for almost an hour
Resuscitative measures remain unsuccessful
While both teams returned to the dressing rooms, paramedics and medical staff from both clubs attempted to resuscitate the fan. In the end, however, the doctors’ efforts were unsuccessful and the older man died. According to media reports, the cause of death was cardiac arrest.
According to Granada manager Alfredo Garcia, who confirmed that the deceased was a season ticket holder of the hosts, both teams were in discussions with league officials shortly after the match was abandoned as to when the remaining 72 minutes of the game would be played.
As the Spanish FA RFEF finally announced on Sunday evening, the game is to be resumed on Monday. To be more precise: the game is to be kicked off again on December 11 at 9 p.m., with the restart starting from the 17th minute of the game.
