Izuchukwu OkosiBarcelona’s La Liga meeting with Cadiz on Saturday evening was halted late on following a scary medical emergency in the crowd that sparked fear among all present.
Xavi’s side were 2-0 up as the clock ticked over into the 82nd minute thanks to goals from Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski before the referee came rushing over the pitch to report an issue.
Medical personnel raced into the crowd to issue medical treatment, with players from both sides praying on the pitch for 20 minutes, heart breaking scenes that prompted numerous social media comments before the decision was made to remove the two teams from the field.
Another fan inside the stadium also required medical attention but it is understood the second incident was not life-threatening.
Before the resumption of play, Cadiz president Manuel Vizcaino confirmed to COPE that the first fan had been stabilised.
“The fan has recovered their pulse and they have taken him in an ambulance,” he said.
“They were revived, then they lost the pulse again but in the end they have been stabilised.”
Nearly an hour after the stoppage, with medical staff safely evacuating those in need from the stadium, the players returned to the field to play out the final nine minutes.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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