Cadiz-Barcelona paused after fan suffers heart attack

Posted Sunday, September 11, 2022 by ESPN

Cadiz and Barcelona players temporarily returned to their locker rooms following the incident.

Cadiz's LaLiga match against Barcelona on Saturday was suspended for over 50 minutes after a supporter suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands.

The game paused in the 82nd minute at Cadiz's Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla with Barca winning 2-0.

Cadiz said in a statement that the fan was successfully resuscitated before being taken to hospital. A camera operator also fainted before being treated.

"A defibrillator was dispatched to the stands to attempt resuscitation," read the statement. "At the same time, Barcelona offered a second defibrillator in case it was necessary. This defibrillator was taken to the stands by the players themselves.

"The resuscitation attempt was successful and the fan was transferred to the ICU of the Puerta del Mar Hospital, where he remains hospitalised.

"In addition, one of the camera operators fainted at the same time. He was also quickly treated by the stadium's medical staff without major consequences.

"Cadiz would like to thank the exemplary behaviour of the fans during this situation, as well as the members of medical and security teams for their prompt action so that the incident had a happy ending."

Cadiz goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma and substitute Jose Mari helped get a defibrillator and a stretcher to the supporter behind the home side's goal before the players returned to their locker rooms.

Cadiz president Manuel Vizcaino said that the fan was in a stable condition.

"The fan has recovered his pulse and they have taken him away in an ambulance," he said. "He was reviving and falling again, but in the end they managed to stabilise him. The game is going to resume."

The game resumed at 9.05 p.m. local time. Barca went on to win 4-0, with Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele adding to earlier goals from Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski.

"It was not a nice situation for anyone," Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said after the game.

"Health and people's lives always come before anything else. Luckily they were able to revive the person and they are healthy and safe. We felt, both teams, that it was right to restart the game. We hope the supporter recovers quickly."

"Obviously we are all affected by what happened," added Cadiz coach Sergio Gonzalez.

"Hopefully it was just a scare in the end. Football is for people to enjoy themselves. It is a privilege to have the supporters we have, they were an example of humanity during what happened -- as were the Barcelona fans."