An Irish football club apologizes for claiming that one of its players had died as a result of a road accident

A third-ranked Irish football club apologized after falsely claiming that a player had died as a result of a car accident, which delayed a match.

Ballybrack FC was scheduled to face Arklow Town on Saturday, but the match was postponed following the announcement of officials from the Leinster Senior League on the death of Fernando Nuno La Fuente of Spain.

Moments of silence were observed throughout the league after the club and the public were informed of the death, offering their condolences to Ballybrack FC and the player's family.

Leinster Senior League has since confirmed to RTE La Fuente that he was living well in Spain.

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The club issued a Wednesday statement (NZT) in which it apologized for "the serious and unacceptable mistake," accusing a club official who has since been "relieved of his football duties".

"It was brought to the attention of the club, senior players and the management team that a gross mistake of judgment had been made as a result of correspondence sent by a member of the team senior management at the Leinster Senior League, "the statement said. .

"This evening, an emergency meeting was held and the person in question was relieved of his duties at Ballybrack FC, his senior team and his roles in the club itself. has contacted Fernando to confirm his situation, his well-being and his grateful for his acceptance of our apologies on this subject.

"This serious and unacceptable error was completely false and was committed by a person who experienced serious personal difficulties without the knowledge of all other members of the club.

"The club will continue to oblige all parties and provide the support it may need at that time." Previously, this person had contributed greatly to the club's senior team in recent years and to the community. Dublin football for decades.

"At this point, we can only offer our sincere apologies to the Leinster Senior League, our opponents, Arklow Town FC and the many clubs and footballers who have contacted us or sent messages of support to them. days.

"The past few years have seen good progress in the renewal of senior football in the Ballybrack region, and we are all surprised by this event and hope to try to work with all relevant organizations and agencies to learn from this mistake."

The league also issued a statement, rejecting responsibility on the club.

"The Leinster Senior League wishes to acknowledge that the notification of the death of a Ballybrack FC player, shared with all member clubs and media partners, is baseless," the statement said.

"The Leinster Senior League has always acted in good faith and when a representative of Ballybrack FC informed us of the death of a member player, we immediately presented our most sincere condolences and also shared the sad news with all the other LSL clubs, presenting their own condolences.

"We are happy to hear that the player is in good health and that he has returned to Spain, his native country.

"The Leinster Senior League will cooperate with all relevant agencies in the investigation of this case and the league will also address this issue through its own internal disciplinary procedures.

"The Leinster Senior League wishes to apologize most sincerely for any distress caused by notifying clubs of the disappearance of a valuable player.

"The league acted in good faith with the information provided by the club and was only concerned about the well-being and the interest of those affected by the" tragedy "reported.