Handball Association cancels appointments
Journalist dies during Champions League finals
06/18/2023, 10:07 p.m
The Champions League final is overshadowed by a tragic death: a medical emergency occurs during the match between SC Magdeburg and Kielce, and a Polish journalist later dies in hospital.
The handball Champions League final between SC Magdeburg and Industria Kielce in Cologne was overshadowed by a tragic death. 12:20 minutes before the end of regular time, a Polish journalist suddenly collapsed in the stands and, according to the tournament organizers, later died in hospital. No information was initially given about the exact cause of death.
Because of the incident, the European Handball Federation canceled the press conference with the coaches of both teams and other activities planned for the evening. “The EHF mourns the loss of a media colleague who passed away during the EHF FINAL4,” the federation wrote in a first statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and relatives.” Kielce said a moving farewell to the late journalist: “Pawel, we will come back here and win, but nobody will give you back to us. Our sincere condolences to the family. Nothing is more important today!”
Because of the medical emergency, the game was interrupted for 13 minutes. Silence fell over the hall, which was completely sold out with 20,000 people, while the man was first treated under a screen and then taken out of the interior. Players, coaches and supervisors also seemed depressed. Magdeburg was 20:22 behind at this point, but won the final after the continuation with 30:29 after extra time and won the premier class trophy for the second time after 2002.
At the World Cup in Qatar last year, the American journalist Grant Wahl collapsed in his chair during the quarter-finals of the World Cup between Argentina and the Netherlands. The reporters sitting next to him immediately called for help. Paramedics and doctors soon arrived on the steep stands of Lusail Stadium. But any help came too late for the journalist.
In the Handball Bundesliga, the game between Bergisches HC and HSG Wetzlar was canceled in 2021 because a spectator collapsed during the encounter. The game was then not continued, the man died a few days later in the hospital.