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QINGDAO TODAY
在线翻译:
szdaily -> Sports -> 
Death of ref puts altitude matches in spotlight
    2019-05-24  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

THE death of a Bolivian referee officiating a match at more than 4,000 meters above sea level has reopened debate about the safety of playing soccer at such altitude.

Victor Hugo Hurtado collapsed while refereeing a Bolivian first division match between local side Always Ready and visitor Oriente Petrolero last Sunday in El Alto, at 4,090 meters,

Hurtado went into cardiac arrest and was stretchered from the field before being taken to hospital, where he died following a second heart attack. He was 31.

El Alto’s municipal stadium is the highest in the world that is home to a professional soccer team, according to a banner outside the ground.

It is more than 400 meters higher than El Hernando Siles stadium (3,660 meters) in nearby La Paz that is used by the Bolivian national team.

But Always Ready’s club doctor, Erick Koziner, insisted altitude played no part in Hurtado’s death.

“There was no pulmonary edema, that is the first thing observed in altitude sicknesses before it passes into the cardiac system,” Koziner said after performing an autopsy.

Pedro Saucedo, head of Bolivia’s refereeing commission, told Los Tiempos newspaper Hurtado had displayed “no signs of tiredness, nothing suspect” at half-time.

Back in 2007, FIFA suspended all matches above 2,500 meters after some of Bolivia’s rivals in South America complained that the host — which has only qualified for the World Cup three times — had an unfair advantage in La Paz.

Two years ago, Brazil superstar Neymar posted a picture on Instagram of him and his teammates wearing oxygen masks ahead of a match against Bolivia.

“Inhuman to play in these conditions. Pitch, altitude, ball ... everything is bad,” Neymar wrote.

(SD-Agencies)

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