Qatari League game abandoned after player collapses

The Qatar Stars League match between Al Rayyan and Al-Wakrah was meant to be just another game. The hosts went into the game in eighth in the table while their opponents were sixth. However, few were thinking about that towards the end of the first half. 

Just before the break, Al-Wakrah player Ousmane Coulibaly collapsed on the pitch and the players urgently called for medical attention. Play was immediately halted and the medical staff swiftly ran onto the field to revive the footballer. 

Television pictures deliberately refused to show close-up shots of the incident as a matter of taste, but we are hoping the player makes a swift recovery. The score was 1-0 to Al Rayyan at the time of the incident thanks to Shojae Khalizadeh's 19th minute goal and the game was later abandoned.

It comes after numerous cases of footballers collapsing or feeling unwell during matches. The most famous example came when Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's Euro 2020 clash with Finland. Sergio Aguero had to retire from football after feeling unwell during Barcelona's match with Alaves while Victor Lindelof was replaced during a Man Utd game as he started feeling unwell. It is certainly a worrying trend we are seeing across football.

 

January 8, 2022