Fan dies after fall during Nations League final in Munich
A football fan died after falling from the stands during the Nations League final between Portugal and Spain in Munich on Sunday, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said.
The supporter fell from the central tier into the media area below during the first period of extra time amid rising tensions among the fans.
Emergency services responded immediately, but the fan succumbed to their injuries.
A UEFA spokesperson confirmed to news agencies that a fan had "sadly" died during the match.
Addressing the incident following the match, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said, "I would like to express my condolences because a fan died in the stands today. My condolences to the family."
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez called the incident "extremely sad news."
The exact circumstances of the fall remain unclear.
In the match, Portugal twice fell behind, but came back both times, with captain Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the second equalizer. Ronaldo's team eventually went on to win 5-3 on penalties, but the 40-year-old football star had already exited the game at the 88th minute.
Edited by: Rana Taha
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Saudi Arabia's World Cup hopes hinge on a near-impossible task against Australia
A Saudi squad that has scored six goals through nine qualifying games needs to beat Australia by a five-goal margin to earn a direct spot at the 2026 World Cup. Head coach Herve Renard knows it's an extremely unlikely outcome for his Saudi team, but he's urging his players to go all in Tuesday in the last game of the third round of Asian qualifying for next year's global tournament.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Arsenal need to build a squad. Signing a striker won't mean the end of Merino or Havertz
This summer feels like the time for Arsenal to shift the emphasis of their squad building. Much of Mikel Arteta's focus in recent years has been on strengthening Arsenal's foundations. That can be seen in the number of players signed in positions that require specific skill sets, whether physical or tactical. Goalkeeper and full-back are the most obvious examples, but the physical profile of midfield signings in the past two summers is another indicator. Advertisement Attention will now turn to addressing what is missing in attack. A centre-forward is the main addition to be expected, but finding better support options out wide is also a necessity. With midfielder Martin Zubimendi expected to join this summer, important players from recent seasons, such as Kai Havertz, Mikel Merino and even Gabriel Martinelli, could see their roles change. Merino and Havertz's minutes may take a hit next season should Arsenal sign Zubimendi and a new centre-forward. Merino, like Havertz, was signed to play in midfield but proved most useful at centre-forward, with six of his nine goals coming from that position. He will return to midfield with Havertz back fit after a three-month hamstring injury. Despite the injury, the Germany international scored 15 goals last season but can expect fresh competition for his starting spot. Considering both are relatively new signings who have improved with time, that might seem harsh, but it is a necessary reality as Arteta looks to develop his side. Compare the two benches when Arsenal met Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final first leg. Arteta could only call on two players of starting quality, one squad option who could leave, five who will depart this month and two youth players who have stayed. PSG, on the other hand, could and did turn to Goncalo Ramos, Bradley Barcola and Warren Zaire-Emery. They also had Presnel Kimpembe, Lee Kang-in and Lucas Hernandez available. While players recovered from injury, Arteta had to fill his bench with players who are unlikely to feature frequently in the coming seasons. Before Arsenal were in title races, the 2021-22 season saw Mika Biereth, Omari Hutchinson, Salah-Eddine Oulad-M'hand and Charlie Patino regularly feature on the bench without coming off it. That situation cannot repeat itself for much longer. Advertisement If Arsenal have the opportunity to turn to Merino or Havertz from the bench, it will mean their squad has improved. Both players would prefer starting roles, but being ready to make an impact when needed would be better than running themselves into the ground and suffering serious muscle injuries, as Havertz and Bukayo Saka did this season. Opinions may differ but one assessment former striker Thierry Henry made on The Overlap podcast felt particularly poignant. 'The most important thing is for the team to win,' he said when comparing his spell at Barcelona to his time at Arsenal. 'If that goes through me, that goes through me. If that goes through someone else, it goes through someone else. At the end of the day, we were all celebrating the treble. 'That was the beauty of that (treble-winning) team of Manchester United. In the Champions League final, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole didn't score. On the way, they scored a lot (eight and four in Europe), but then Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored in the final. This is how you win important trophies.' Of the backup options, Leandro Trossard has displayed those reliable qualities. He played 56 of 58 available games last season, more than any other Arsenal player — although he only started two-thirds (37) of those. Having more options like him cannot hurt. Henry's point about supposed bench players can also be seen in both the past and present of successful Arsenal teams. While the former France forward scored 24 league goals to win his first Premier League title with Arsenal in 2001-02, he did not score the goal that secured the silverware. He was at home watching with a bruised knee as Sylvain Wiltord scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the penultimate game of the season. Of course, Arsenal playing with two strikers made a difference then, but Wiltord's numbers were not dissimilar to those of Dennis Bergkamp. He started 23 league games and scored 10 goals, whereas the Dutchman started 22 league games and scored nine goals. Henry started 31 league games that season, so the role as his support option differed from game to game. Advertisement For a more direct comparison, you can look at the front line of Arsenal's women's team in recent season. Stina Blackstenius was signed in January 2022 in a move that signalled the beginning of the end for Vivianne Miedema at the club. The following season, 2022-23, she started 20 league games. Arsenal still reinforced their attack by signing Alessia Russo, who has grown into her role as the first-choice option up front, winning the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year this season with 20 goals in all competitions, but it was Blackstenius who replaced her to offer something different and score the winner in the Champions League final. Arteta has not had the same luxury in attack, partially because of injuries but the way his squad has been built is also a factor. This summer offers an opportunity to get closer to that by improving the depth of Arsenal's attacking quality, but without discounting those who have helped them reach this position. Arteta has not been shy to upgrade on loved squad members before, but often those players have been left by the wayside without a route back. In goal, that pipeline can be seen in the evolution from Bernd Leno to Aaron Ramsdale and then David Raya. At left-back, it has been just as evident with the movement from Kieran Tierney to Oleksandr Zinchenko and now Myles Lewis-Skelly. Once their starting spot has been lost, they have struggled for minutes. They then leave to better their own careers. Emile Smith Rowe is another prime example, going from a player who helped transform Arsenal under Arteta to one who struggled to get meaningful minutes before moving to Fulham last summer. There should be opportunities for Merino, Havertz and Martinelli to make an impact on Arsenal's season, even if they are not starting every game. Rather than taking a binary view on what certain signings could mean for existing players, there needs to be an understanding that it is hard to predict what might happen across a season. Injuries and unavailability, plus the sheer number of matches, mean there will be opportunities. Whoever enters the building this summer, Arsenal's front line needs quality additions while maintaining and improving the existing options.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Benfica struggling to meet financial demands of a João Félix deal — report
Benfica are said to be interested in bringing back João Félix, preferably before the start of the Club World Cup, but in an entirely expected development, they are struggling to meet the financial demands of this proposition — even though both player and club are pushing hard for the reunion (and Chelsea are more than willing to make it happen, for a reasonable price). According to A Bola, Benfica initially asked for a loan, but Chelsea are adamant about authorizing only a permanent move. We have asked for €30m to make that happen. Benfica are willing to go as high as €25m, so the gap in valuation is certainly not huge — though €25m would be the third highest transfer fee paid in Benfica history, so it's already a considerable investment for them. However, the bigger hindrance is the salary. Félix is rumored to be earning around €8m per year, which is twice as much as Benfica's wage structure allows. So if he truly wants this reunion to happen, he will have to take a significant pay cut. More from Thibaut Courtois wins Premier League Golden Glove What is your favorite memory of Chelsea's Champions League final victory in Munich? Nathan Ake, Kurt Zouma receive surprise national team call-ups Chelsea to continue building around Eden Hazard Chelsea 4-3 Watford, Premier League: Tactical Analysis Chelsea 'making progress' on €90m Romelu Lukaku — reports Conte wants six new signings at Chelsea for next season's Premier League and Champions League title push Sign in to access your portfolio
