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AT RISK
FAN DIES AT CELTIC PARK
AFTER EURO QUALIFIER
A football fan died after falling in a stairwell at
Celtic Park following Scotland’s Euro 2016 qualifier
against the Republic of Ireland last November.
Nathan McSeveney, 20, from Cumnock in Ayrshire,
was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
The Scottish FA said in a statement: “The man
appeared to fall within the stadium around 21:30
hours at the end of the European qualifying match
between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.
“The Scottish FA and the Scotland national team
staff and players send their deepest condolences
to the family of the supporter fatally injured at
this time.”
PLAYER DIES AFTER GOAL
CELEBRATION
Indian footballer Peter Biaksangzuala died from
the injuries he suffered as he landed awkwardly
while celebrating a goal. The 23-year-old damaged
his spinal cord doing a somersault after scoring
an equaliser for Bethlehem Vengthlang FC against
Chanmari West FC in November last year. He was
taken to hospital and had surgery, but passed
away.
The match in which he sustained his injuries was
a state level game in the Mizoram Premier League.
A statement on the Mizoram Premier League’s
official Facebook page read: “It has been a sad
day for Mizoram football and the demise of the
footballer shook his team-mates, footballers and
fans alike all over Mizoram.
“Peter was a defensive midfielder who had always
been aggressive and hard working, a true team
player.
“Peter ’s club Bethlehem Vengthlang FC will retire
his jersey no. 21.” Bethlehem Vengthlang FC is a
club based in the north-east of India.
SPURS BREACHED DUTY OF CARE TO
YOUTH PLAYER
A High Court judge has ruled Tottenham Hotspur breached
its duties to a 17-year-old player who suf fered cardiac
arrest in his f irst game for the club and was lef t brain
damaged. Radwan Hamed collapsed af ter only six minutes
during the youth team game in Belgium in August 2006.
In a screening before he signed to the club, an ECG showed
his heart to be “unequivocally abnormal ” but he was not
stopped from playing.
Mr Hamed’s father, Raymon, claimed his injuries resulted
from the negligence of Dr Peter Mills, a cardiologist who
screened his son, and of the club - through Dr Charlotte
Cowie and Dr Mark Curtin, specialist sports physicians it
employed.
Mr Justice Hickinbottom ruled the club was 70% liable and
Dr Peter Mills, the Football Association’s regional cardiolo-
gist for South East England, was 30% liable.
In his ruling, the judge said Dr Cowie, who was head of the
medical services department at the club, made a serious
error of judgment when she concluded that the teenager
bore no risk of an adverse cardiac event.
He said: “The Club doctors were not only in ef fect the claim-
ant ’s general practitioners, but specialist sports physicians
who were (or should have been) well-acquainted with the
cardiac risk faced by young athletes.
“It was their responsibility, as specialist physicians and
employers, to ensure that relevant risks were identif ied
and communicated to the claimant and his parents to
enable them to make an informed decision as to whether
to bear them.
“In this, they singularly failed.”
In a statement, Tottenham, which the judge said was “vicar-
iously liable” for the actions of Dr Cowie and Dr Curtin, said
it “wholeheartedly regrets that a former employee... was
remiss in their duties to Radwan” .
The FA requires all new entrants to football academies to
be referred to a cardiologist. This is to tackle the issue of
some young athletes being prone to cardiac f ibrillation
which, unless treated promptly, is usually fatal.
The High Court heard Mr Hamed was “an extremely gif ted
and dedicated footballer” who had been associated with
the club since the age of 11.
Risk is present in our everyday lives even
when we are playing sport and having fun.
Here we report some of the more tragic
and bizarre events that lead to loss, injury
and sometimes even death in our industry.
TOUCHLINE
ISSUE 20 | MARCH 2015 |
17