JAKARTA: Indonesian football fans are mourning the death of Choirul Huda, the long-term goalkeeper and captain of top flight side Lamongan FC, usually known as Persela, following an accidental collision with a team-mate during a weekend match at their stadium in East Java.

Huda slumped to the ground after slamming into Brazilian midfielder Ramon Rodrigues de Mesquita during Sunday’s game in the Go-Jek Traveloka league against Semen Padang at Surajaya Stadium.

Rodrigues’ knee had accidentally collided with Huda’s chest in the incident, said the club’s media officer Andika Hangga Pramana.

Video footage showed the 38-year-old clutching his chest in pain before he was taken off the pitch on a stretcher after losing consciousness and a medical team at the stadium attempted to resuscitate him. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but died several hours later.

In a statement released by the club, doctor Yudistira Andri Nugroho, head of the emergency Care Unit at the Soegiri Hospital, Lamongan, said Huda, the team captain and a veteran of more than 500 games since his debut in 1999, sustained a traumatic injury and died of cardiac arrest.

Nugroho said Huda suffered possible neck and head trauma from the impact to his chest and lower jaw after he dived at the feet of on-rushing players and was caught by the legs of Rodrigues.

“Huda was taken to the hospital’s intensive care unit and given breathing assistance and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but his condition deteriorated and he was pronounced dead at 4.45 pm,” Nugroho said a statement. “We did all we could to restore the vital functions of Choirul Huda’s organs,” the doctor said.

His fellow players had gone to straight to the hospital after the final whistle following their 2-0 win and supporters later went to his house with candles.

Edy Rahmayadi, the chairman of Indonesia’s football association, issued a statement Monday saying: “Indonesian football grieves and loses with the death of Choirul Huda, one of Indonesia’s best goalkeepers. May your soul rest in peace.”

It was the fourth death in the Indonesian league since 2000, most caused by collisions between players.

Persela paid tribute to Huda calling him “The Real Legend” of the club in a posting on Twitter. According to the team’s Instagram page, the club will retire the number one jersey worn by Huda.

Thousands of fans also took to social media in memory of Huda, who had been known to Persela supporters as “One Man, One Club, One Love”.

Huda leaves behind a wife and two children.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017