In news that is sure to shock the football family, 25-year-old Bolivian footballer, Deibert Roman Guzman, has died after he contracted Covid-19.
The Bolivian Football Federation and Club Universitario del Beni, of the Bolivian Second Division and Guzman’s employers, jointly confirmed the news on Saturday evening.
“The Bolivian Football Federation expresses its heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Deibert Román Guzmán, asking God for resignation and strength in these hard times,” they wrote in a statement, published by Mundo Deportivo.
He becomes the first professional player worldwide to die of the disease, and the saddest of news has to be a warning shot to football leagues across the planet.
On the same day that 10 positive Covid-19 tests were posted from eight teams in the English Football Championship, with seven more coming from League Two teams, this latest news will be a hammer blow to the authorities.
With that backdrop in mind, it’s hard to argue with anyone who continues to suggest that attempting to resurrect the season at this stage is wrong. Where the loss of human life is concerned, risks cannot and must not be taken.
Guzman’s father and uncle had already lost their lives due to the disease, providing an awful footnote to the story.