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Fabrice Muamba's successful recovery has highlighted the importance of pitch side medical care - but a tragic death this week reminds us that more work must be done

COMMENT
By Dan Orlowitz

The footballing world has held its collective breath in the past week as players and supporters alike waited to hear news of Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba, whose collapse midway through an FA Cup match made headlines globally.

While Muamba is thankfully said to be improving despite having been clinically dead for as long as 78 minutes, another recent - and far less-reported - incident in India has once again led to the question of whether or not the world's second most populous nation is capable of joining the international footballing community to the forefront.

	ON-FIELD TRAGEDY Recent cases of Sudden Cardiac Death in football
June 2003	MARC-VIVIEN FOE (Cameroon)
Jan 2004	MIKLOS FEHER (Benfica)
Oct 2004	SERGINHO (San Caetano)
Aug 2007	ANTONIO PUERTA (Sevilla)
Dec 2007	PHIL O'DONNELL (Motherwell)
Aug 2011	NAOKI MATSUDA (Matsumoto Yamaga)

The tragic death of D. Venkatesh, a 28-year-old player for Bangalore Mars, who competed in the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) 'A' Division of the Indian third-tier offers a tragic reminder of the disparities in the football world.

Venkatesh suffered a cardiac arrest soon after coming off the bench in their match against South Western Railway, and was declared dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Besides the unexpected nature of a cardiac arrest, there are few similarities between the two incidents. While Muamba was immediately attended to by a small army of trained medical professionals, who continued to perform CPR from the spot he fell, all the way to a hospital, the same could not be said at the BDFA match.

The stadium lacked an ambulance, trained medical staff, and even a first aid kit, forcing Venkatesh's team-mates to pay for an auto rickshaw to take them to the nearest hospital.

The fatal failure of those who organised the match was summed up by Dr. Ajith Benedict Royan, vice president of Bangalore's Hosmat Hospital where Venkatesh was pronounced dead.
"Maybe if Venkatesh had been given oxygen or proper medical care at the time of the incident, he could have stood a chance," Dr. Royan said.

It is the latest black mark on an Indian footballing system that has in recent years seen several players such as Arun Kumar and Cristiano Junior die after failing to receive proper medical care, and a damning indictment of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). An organisation that appears to have scandalously turned a blind eye to player health and safety beyond the I-League while other Asian Football Confederation members have taken proactive steps to ensure the safety of their players.

In Japan, the shocking death of former international Naoki Matsuda resulted in the country's third division as well as the women's Nadeshiko League introducing automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, at all stadiums and training grounds. Meanwhile, South Korean Shin Young-Rok's life was saved through the quick work of medical staff after the 24-year-old suffered a heart attack in a K-League match last year.

"While Muamba was immediately attended to by a small army of medical professionals, Venkatesh was taken to a hospital in an auto rickshaw paid for by his team-mates"

Yet while leagues around the world have learned from such incidents and improved their safety protocols, it appears that the AIFF is reluctant to do so, even going so far as to claim that Bangalore Mars were 'forced to play Venkatesh by his family' after the player allegedly vomited on the bench.

Varying excuses have also been given regarding the lack of an ambulance; some officials have claimed that one was unavailable due to nearby road construction blocking access, while others have reported that an ambulance was present but blocked off by parked motorbikes.

Clearly, the AIFF must put a stop to the excuses and take greater steps in order to ensure that sufficient medical care is available at all lower-league matches. If the federation is serious about their bid to host the 2015 Club World Cup as well as the 2017 Under-17 World Cup, these grave errors must be corrected immediately.

"Maybe if Venkatesh had been given oxygen or proper medical care at the time of the incident, he could have stood a chance" - Dr. Ajith Benedict Royan, vice-president of Hosmat Hospital

But India is certainly not alone in failing to properly address the safety issues of their players, and this is why Fifa needs to use the cases of Muamba and Venkatesh as an opportunity to introduce medical care to as many players as possible.

The organisation recently announced that, beginning in September, they would insure all national team players so that their clubs would be compensated in the event of major injuries. This is acceptable, but it also means that the teams must take care of their own. A Sepp Blatter announcement mandating the presence of trained medical professionals at matches would be a good start, but such a decision would also need to be enforced.

In recent days, the skill and professionalism of the staff who treated Muamba after his collapse have rightfully been praised; the biggest tragedy of all is that we do not have two such stories to tell. Few believe that Indian football is prepared to change its ways, but if they don't take strong and bold measures they could have more blood on their hands.

After the tragic death of Venkatesh, the AIFF released a statement saying 'we pray for his departed soul'. They will need to offer more than just prayers if they are to salvage their disgraced reputation in the game.