Picture Credit: Twitter
The LaLiga match between Cadiz and Barcelona on Saturday was suspended for around 50 minutes as a supporter suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands. The game was stopped in the 82nd minute at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla where the Blaugrana were 2-0. Cadiz later released a statement that the fan was successfully resuscitated before being taken to the hospital.
Cadiz goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma and substitute Jose Mari played an important role as they helped get the defibrillator and a stretcher for the supporter behind the home side's goal before the players went back to the locker rooms.
Jeremías Ledesma, Cádiz goalkeeper, runs with a defibrillator in hand to give it to the paramedics so that they can assist the fan who is decompensated. Respect! #CadizBarca pic.twitter.com/Li1tc4hMRI
— DB18 (@danybhry) September 10, 2022
Cádiz Vs Barcelona Medics Rush To Save Fan pic.twitter.com/uSQ0M53ASA
— Football full time sports (@Footballfullti1) September 10, 2022
The game restarted at 9.05 p.m. local time as the Catalans registered a 4-0 win, with Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele scoring the last two goals after Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski.
Cadiz coach Sergio Gonzalez talked about how the incident affected everyone at the organisation and also thanked all the fans for their constant support. He said, “Obviously we are all affected by what happened. Hopefully, it was just a scare in the end. Football is for people to enjoy themselves. It is a privilege to have the supporters we have, they were an example of humanity during what happened -- as were the Barcelona fans.”
Similarly, Barca coach Xavi also shared a similar sentiment and hoped that the affected fan would recover quickly. He said, "[The medical emergency] was not a nice situation for anyone. Health and people's lives always come before anything else. Luckily they were able to revive the person and they are healthy and safe. We felt, both teams, that it was right to restart the game.”