Sunday, December 05, 2004

Death of an ace on the football ground.

==================================
Fed Cup hero Junior collapses during match, dies
Dec 5, 2004 08:31:00 PM
.BANGALOR MDS19
Bangalore, Dec 5, 2004 (PTI) In a shocking onfield tragedy, 25-year-old Brazilian striker Cristiano de Lima Junior died after collapsing during the final of the Federation Cup football championship between Dempo and Mohun Bagan here today. Junior fell on the ground after scoring his second goal in the 78th minute, helping his Goan team Dempo beat the Kolkata outfit 2-0 and win their first Federation Cup title. Onrushing Mohun Bagan goalie Subrata Paul and Junior, seeking to net the goal, appeared to have come in contact during the moment. Junior took a few steps towards his right before collapsing and appeared to have been hurt in the incident in the seconds before. Junior, who had scored his first goal in the 42nd minute, was given medical attention on the ground, where medical officials tried to resuscitate him before rushing him to a private hospital, where he was declared "brought dead". PTI
====================================
The above is a PTI report posted after the Dempo-Mohun Bagan final match for the 26th Federation Cup.
All those who were present on December 5, 2004 in Bangalore's Kanteerava Stadium know what exactly happened to Christiano. Mohun Bagan goalie Subrata Paul collided into Christiano much later after the ball was already on its way into the nets of Mohun Bagan. Even the referee could have red-carded Paul for his harsh tackle. But all said and done, Christiano is no more. His death will definitely haunt his fans as well those who were watching the match, whether on television or at the stadium. But those who saw the match at the stadium will feel more because u see a man in flesh n blood one minute and the next minute he is not there.

But what is shocking to me is the way the media has reported it. The above reproduced PTI story fails to convey the actual story. Although the media is expected to be impartial in its reporting, the way PTI, a very respected news agency in India, has gone abt reporting the incident makes me smell something fishy. There is a lot at stake for Mohun Bagan which lost the finals, specially for Subrata Paul who punched Christiano where there was no necessity.