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An Irish football team are to be investigated after a player they reported dead turned up “alive and well”.
Leinster Senior League outfit Ballybrack FC informed league bosses that Spanish player Fernando Nuno La-Fuente had been killed in a traffic accident.
The league communicated the player’s alleged passing to the media and an obituary appeared in a newspaper.
Ballybrack were due to play on Saturday but the game was called off as a mark of respect.
But the league have since released a statement announcing that he is not dead and had actually returned to Spain.
A league statement said: “The Leinster Senior League would like to acknowledge that the notification of the death of a Ballybrack FC player, as shared with all member clubs and media partners, is without foundation.
“The Leinster Senior League acted in good faith at all times and, when notified by a representative of Ballybrack FC as to the death of a member player, we immediately offered our heartfelt condolences and also shared the sad news with all other LSL clubs, in order for them to offer their own individual condolences.
“We are glad to hear that the player is in good health and has returned to his native Spain.”
Other clubs in the league paid tribute to the player at the weekend and some were even pictured holding a minute’s silence.
The league confirmed they had launched a full investigation into the bizarre incident.
The statement continued: “The Leinster Senior League will co-operate with all relevant agencies in the investigation of this matter, and the league will also deal with this issue through their own internal disciplinary procedures.
“The Leinster Senior League would like to offer their sincerest apologies for any distress caused as a result of notifying clubs as to the demise of a valued player.
“The league acted in absolute good faith with the information supplied by the club, and only had the welfare and interest of those affected by the reported ‘tragedy’ as our uppermost concern at all times.”
League chairman David Moran added: “We were informed on Friday morning that a young lad had passed away. So, yesterday the we asked the secretary for the league to find out when the funeral was or what was happening so we could send a representative of the league and make sure the family was alright for a few bob,” Moran said.
“We got a call back saying that his body had been sent back to Spain and that’s when the alarm bells rang. I was saying ‘what do you mean?’. They wouldn’t have been able to do an autopsy or whatever in that time.
“We started investigating it yesterday and then I got a call saying that he had just left to go home to Spain. I’m delighted the young lad’s alive but I’m absolutely dumbfounded by what’s going on.”
Culled from DailyRecord
