SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - WORLD CUP 2010 - Eye-witnesses say they thought UEFA President Michel Platini had suffered a heart attack

Record ID: 456045

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - WORLD CUP 2010 - Eye-witnesses say they thought UEFA President Michel Platini had suffered a heart attack
  • Date: 10th July 2010
  • Summary: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JULY 9, 2010) (REUTERS) WAITERS AT THE PIGALLE RESTAURANT IN SANDTON JOURNALISTS AT THE RESTAURANT (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) RESTAURANT GUEST CLAUDIO CARNIERO SAYING: "A gentleman felt ill next to my table. He was dining, and I resuscitated the gentleman that had a heart attack. I gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation and he went straight to the hospital." CARNIERO TALKING TO JOURNALISTS
  • Embargoed: 25th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Health,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAD3Y17VRPOFDPX5NY3KAGEDEQP
  • Story Text: UEFA President Michel Platini was taken to hospital in Johannesburg on Friday (July 9) night after fainting in a restaurant, UEFA and FIFA said.
    FIFA officials said that contrary to speculation, Platini had not suffered a heart attack when he passed out in the Pigalle restaurant in the suburb of Sandton.
    FIFA media office Alain LeBlanc said the 55-year-old had fainted after feeling unwell following flu symptoms and had been taken to hospital for some tests. He said no signs of any heart-related problems had been found.
    But witnesses from the restaurant said that when Platini collapsed, it looked as though he had suffered a heart attack.
    "A gentleman felt ill next to my table. He was dining, and I resuscitated the gentleman that had a heart attack. I gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation and he went straight to the hospital," one Brazilian guest, Claudio Carniero said.
    Pigalle restaurant manager Johnny Miranda told Reuters that Platini had complained about feeling unwell and was walking through the restaurant when he collapsed.
    The UEFA president would be kept in hospital overnight for observation as a precautionary measure, FIFA said.
    Platini is one of the greatest players in the history of the sport and helped France win the 1984 European Championship. He was national team coach between 1988 and 1992.
    He was elected president of European soccer's governing body in 2007.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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