Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini collapsed from a heart attack on the pitch on Saturday and was dead before he arrived at the hospital. According to reports from the Italian media, the ambulance that took him to the hospital was delayed because its entrance to the stadium was blocked.

Steps will assuredly be taken to ensure that never happens again.

Morosini, 25, collapsed 31 minutes into his Serie B match at Pescara. He tried to get up, but couldn’t. Medical staff rushed onto the field and a defibrillator was used. Morosoni regained consciousness as he was stretchered off the field.

For a first-hand look at the timeline, Pescara’s general manager Danilo Iannascoli, in a quote captured by ESPN, told of his encounter with his fallen player: “He looked at me in the eyes when he was taken into the ambulance.”

In the same ESPN article, Edoardo De Blasio—a cardiologist at Pescara’s Santo Spirito hospital—was quoted as saying, “unfortunately he was already dead when he arrived at hospital. He didn’t regain consciousness.”

So here is a 25-year-old player who had just suffered a heart attack, was living when he was ushered into the ambulance and dead before he got to the hospital, and the ambulance could have gotten there sooner.

Iannascoli added credibility to the reports of the ambulance being blocked with this quote: “I don’t know if the ambulance was late, but I know that the entrance onto the pitch was blocked by a vehicle.”

The Associated Press, via The Washington Post, went into a little more detail:

Italian media reports said a car belonging to traffic police blocked the ambulance’s way into the stadium Saturday and a window had to be broken so the car could be moved.

This is a situation that never should have happened, and one that will assuredly result in steps being created so it never happens again.

The access point in and out of a stadium needs to be clearly marked and known to all emergency vehicles. It must be so clear that this can never happen again, whether that is by accident, ignorance or malice.

I have no idea if this delay in any way played a role in the tragic series of events that claimed Morosini’s life, but I do know that even having to wonder if it did is a terrible and avoidable situation.

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5 Comments

  1. Sad..especially since it sounds like he had a fighting chance if not for the inappropriately parked police vehicle. The police seriously need to reprimand and suspend the officer (s) responsible and the stadium security needs to also be held accountable for allowing the vehicle to be parked there.

  2. I don’t understand…since when was it possible for 25 year olds to get heart attacks?! O_O
    This is so sad and shocking to me.

    • @La Fille: I’d love to see a follow up on this. I’ve never really heard of this except on the 30 for 30 ESPN special when Hank Gathers died of heart attack at 21 while playing for LMU. This is so scary and sad…indeed tragic

  3. This is tragic! This is the second time in about one month that this has happened, and it has happened to other soccer players. Last month (in the U.K.), Fabrice Muamba collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. Thank God they were able to resuscitate him. He ended up getting a defibrillator and is to be released from the hospital this weekend. I think he has celebrated his 24th b-day since this happened:

    http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4253946/Electrical-device-fitted-to-the-heart-of-Bolton-star-Fabrice-Muamba.html

    The initial video of Muamba’s incident was heartwrenching. CNN has several updates on his condition over the past month.

    http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/26/sport/football/football-muamba-bolton-coyle/index.html

    This can happen to athletes, especially those who play at the college and professional level because they are on rigorous schedules, and are placing greater demands on their hearts. Most of the time, it’s some sort of undetected heart problem. They may end up recommending additional heart studies for these guys before they are allowed to play.

  4. My pastor was saying something about this story and quoted ” it was God’s timing “. If this is the case then the car rhat was parked there was an purpose of God. Just say if this was God’s timing. That car was there for a reason. And the reason is what?. I dont know but what i do know. This guy looked really healthy and was full of energy. Go can put in as much he could take out. Was he born again?? Trust in the lord with all your heart and lead not unto your own understanding. Commet back…..

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