Last night’s game against Lincoln City was abandoned as medics treated the man. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
By Marco Marcelline
A Leyton Orient fan died after suffering a suspected heart attack during yesterday’s match against Lincoln City.
The game was paused at the 84th minute due to what Leyton Orient first described as a “crowd emergency”.
In a tweet posted at 11.30pm last night (3rd October), Leyton Orient FC said that the club would “like to thank all supporters in attendance at Brisbane Road…for the understanding and compassion shown, during a very difficult situation.”
The London Ambulance Service arrived at the East Stand of the Breyer Group Stadium at 10.32pm. Despite efforts to resuscitate him the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to fans on social media, game officials, including the referee, had wanted to restart the League One game even while medics were on the scene treating the man.
One Twitter user described the response from English Football League (EFL) officials at the match as “shameful” and “disgusting” for “making the response team run around the pitch and then trying to force the restart”.
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According to BBC Sport, 20 fans ran onto the pitch and sat in the penalty area in a bid to force a halt to the match.
The Echo contacted Leyton Orient FC for comment but we did not receive a response in time for publication.
A spokesperson from the EFL told the Echo that “the health and safety of everybody attending matches at EFL Clubs’ stadiums is of paramount importance, so fans can be reassured that all Clubs have a Matchday Medical Plan with dedicated crowd medical teams in stadia, ready to assist at any point during the match.”
The EFL said it could not comment when asked if it was investigating social media reports that stewards removed two fans from the ground for jumping on the pitch to inform the linesman and referee about the medical emergency.
In a statement shared last night, the EFL confirmed the game with Lincoln City had been “abandoned as a result of a medical emergency”. The EFL added: “Our thoughts are with the supporter concerned and everyone else who was affected by this distressing incident this evening.”
Leyton Orient had been leading 1-0 before the game was abandoned.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson told the Echo:
“We were called yesterday (3 October) at 9:28pm to reports of a person becoming unwell at Leyton Orient Football Club, on Brisbane Road.
“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an incident response officer, two medics in fast-response cars and an ambulance crew.
“Our first medic arrived in approximately four minutes.
“We treated a man at the scene, but very sadly, despite our teams’ best efforts, he was later pronounced dead.”
Were you at the game last night and have any more information to share? Contact us at [email protected]
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