The Guardian UK has reported the death of a Nigerian defender David Faramola Oniya who passed on after he collapsed during a friendly match, Saturday, between his Malaysian club, T-Team, and Kelantan. He was 30.
Local media said the T-Team captain collapsed three minutes into the match in Kota Bharu and was taken to hospital. The club’s chief executive, Syahrizan Mohd Zain, claimed Oniya did not receive medical treatment quickly enough.
“He suffered a heart attack but it could have been a different story,” he told the New Straits Times. “Our defender was deprived of oxygen for several minutes.”
Syahrizan said the match was called off after 60 minutes after they were informed by the hospital that Oniya had died. He told the Star newspaper: “He was pronounced dead at the hospital about 30 minutes later.”
Oniya had only just joined the Malaysian club this season after spells in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
