A Polish journalist died during the final of the Handball Champions League won by the Germans of Magdeburg against the Poles of Kielce (30-29 after extra time), Sunday in Cologne (Germany), announced the European Handball Federation (EHF ).
Pawel Kotwica had worked for thirty years for a Polish regional daily, the Echo Dnia, which specified that he was 51 years old.
“Pawel Kotwica was a great journalist, a remarkable handball expert, whom he loved more than anything. We talked for hours and hours of matches, players, tactics. The entire editorial staff of Echo Dnia is crying, it is difficult to express our sadness and our grief,” the newspaper wrote on its website.
The journalist collapsed in the press box 12 minutes 20 seconds from the end of regulation time before being evacuated unconscious by rescuers, AFP noted.
EHF announced his passing ahead of the post-match press conference, which was accordingly canceled after a minute’s silence was observed.
“Pawel, we will come back and we will win, but no one will give you back to us,” the Kielce club tweeted, offering its “deepest condolences to the family” of the late journalist. “Today, nothing matters more.”
A manager of the Polish club told AFP that the journalist had succumbed to cardiac arrest. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and relatives,” wrote the EHF on its Twitter account.
