Horrific foul kills Indonesian player

A top Indonesia soccer player died after a horrific challenge during a game left him with a punctured intestine, the Indonesian Football Association said Tuesday.

Forward Akli Fairuz, 27, was playing for second division side Persiraja Banda Aceh againt PSAP Sigli on Western Sumatra island last week, and chased a ball that rebounded off the PSAP Sigli goalkeeper. The goalkeeper rushed out, too late to intercept the ball, and caught Fairuz heavily in the midriff with his raised boot.

Fairuz was felled by the blow, and immediately substituted in the May 10 game, but the extent of his injuries was not immediately apparent. He stayed on the sidelines and watched the rest of the game but was later rushed to the hospital. He died of his injuries on May 16 “due to a rupture on his intestine,” the IFA said.

“We are investigating the case, but there’s a suspicion that treatment of his injury on the pitch might have been too slow,” an official said.