The normal rate is 7 per year.

Infobae is an online Spanish language newspaper. Based in Argentina, it claims 100 million readers across the Spanish-speaking world.

Marin Cacic, aged 23, died on Dec. 23rd

On December 27th, it published a news story headlined: Four footballers killed by heart attacks over Christmas week intensifies expert attention. This describes the demise of four extremely fit young men within four days.

Ahmed Amin, a 23-year-old goal keeper in Egypt, died of heart problems on December 22nd. He collapsed following a training session, was rushed to hospital, but could not be revived.

Amin had reportedly complained of chest pain and fainting 10 days earlier, but a doctor had rejected his request for an echocardiogram.

Marín Cacic, a 23-year-old Croatian player, collapsed during a game (or during a training session – media reports differ on this detail). He was taken to hospital, but died of heart failure three days later, on December 23rd.

Mukhaled Al-Raqad, aged 29, likewise suffered a heart attack on December 23rd in Oman during a pre-game warmup. He was declared dead soon after reaching the hospital.

30-year-old Sofiane Loukar was captain of his Algerian soccer team, and had reportedly gotten married a few days prior to December 25th. During a game on that day, he collided with another player, received onsite medical attention, and was cleared to resume playing. 10 minutes later, he suffered a heart attack and died enroute to the hospital.

Oddly, while the headline of the Spanish news article suggests these deaths have caught the attention of experts, no mention is made of that within the article itself. Surely, though, alarm bells have begun ringing. Surely someone will be investigating the possibility that these heart issues are connected to the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

A study published in late 2020 identified 617 soccer-related deaths over a five-year period (2014-2018). But amateurs accounted for 95% of them. Only 33 involved elite players (defined as “subjects younger than 40 years who compete for a first or second division team at national or professional level with regular training”).

According to that study, therefore, 6.6 professional soccer players per year experience sudden cardiac death on the field. On average. World wide.

Four in four days isn’t proof something unusual is going on. It’s possible, for example, that these kinds of deaths occur in clusters, at particular times of the year.

Nevertheless, when four players are struck down in four days, that’s a huge red flag. Especially given the subsequent death of Marcos Menaldo, a 25-year-old Guatemalan soccer star.  Of a heart attack. During training. On January 3rd.

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