A FIFA doping control officer died from a heart attack during the chaotic Nigeria vs. Ghana game where fans attacked Ghana’s Black Stars because Nigeria’s Super Eagles failed to qualify.
There were other speculations to his death but FIFA confirmed that the medic has suffered from a stroke.
According to Spiegel, Zambian doctor Joseph Kabungo was on Tuesday at the stadium in Nigeria’s capital Abuja as a doping officer.
The Nigerian Football Association gave Kabungo’s cause of death as a heart attack. Rumours had already emerged that the medic had been beaten to death by fans who were rioting.
The allegation was denied by the Secretary General of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Sanusi. Kabungo, the match’s doping control officer, was about to test a player when he was found gasping for air near the Ghana team’s dressing room wrote Speigel.
‘I was notified and ordered that he be taken to the hospital immediately. He did not make it. He died when they got to the hospital,’ Sanusi said.
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What happened at the FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifiers?
Nigerians fans decided to attack Ghanaian players after their team did not make it to the coveted games.
Nigerian fans stormed the pitch and chased the footballers attempting to flee at the Abuja National Stadium after the final whistle to the game.
READ ALSO: African countries qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar
Numerous videos on Social Media showed supporters of the ‘Super Eagles’ leaving their seats in the stands and storming the field in anger.
For the first time since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the “Super Eagles” will miss the world’s biggest football tournament.
READ MORE: World Cup 2022: Nigerian fans attack Ghanaian players after Super Eagles’ failure to meet qualifiers