ARCHIVED - 19-year-old football referee dies while warming up for match in El Algar
A minute’s silence was held for Fernando Alcaraz Bernal prior to the Spanish women’s Cup Final
A late-season football match in El Algar, close to the inland shore of the Mar Menor, was marked by tragedy on Sunday when the assistant referee, a 19-year-old from La Unión named Fernando Alcaraz Bernal, collapsed and died while warming up for the encounter 15 minutes before kick-off.
The match between San Ginés de la Jara and Montecasillas was ready to start at 16.45 at the Sánchez Luengo arena in El Algar when the young referee, a Law student at the University of Murcia, collapsed while on his way back to the dressing room after warming up on the pitch. Two players, one from each team, rushed to his aid and attempted to revive him for 45 minutes, helped by ambulance staff with a defibrillator, but the sudden heart attack he had suffered proved to be fatal and his body was taken for an autopsy.
In tribute to Fernando Alcaraz Bernal a minute’s silence was observed prior to the final of the women’s Copa de la Reina in Leganés, and all of the players wore black armbands.
All football stadiums in Murcia have been equipped with defibrillators since the sudden death of footballer Rafa Lorente in the very same stadium almost five years ago.
Image: RFEF: the players observe a minute’s silence in Leganés prior to the Spanish women’s cup final