24-year-old Brazilian football player Alex Apolinario has died on the field after suffering cardiorespiratory arrest on Sunday.
Apolinario collapsed in the 27th minute of the club’s third division match against UFC Almeirim, in Portugal.
Medical personnel used a defibrillator to get the athlete’s heart beating again, and he was taken to the Vila Franca de Xira Hospital where he was placed in a medically induced coma.
It was reported by FC Alverca that sadly, Apolinario passed away from brain death.
The FC Alverca club expressed their sadness as they reported the news of Apolinario’s death in an Instagram post,
“It is with deep sadness we report, in accordance with the information provided by the medical staff of the Vila Franca de Xira Hospital, the passing by brain death of our athlete Alex Sandro dos Santos Apolinario, this morning.”
Apolinario rose through the ranks and was a promising young footballer. One of the highlights of his career was scoring in a famous upset against first division side Sporting CP, in the 2019 Portuguese Cup.
