Alanyaspor’s Czech striker Sural killed in crash

ANTALYA

Czech international Josef Sural has died of injuries sustained in a minibus crash while returning with teammates from an away match in central Turkey, his club Alanyaspor said on April 29.

The club’s chairman said the accident occurred after both the drivers on the minibus fell asleep.

“Czech player Josef Sural who was seriously injured after an accident involving a private minibus carrying seven of our footballers after an away game at Kayseri could not be saved despite all of the hospital’s efforts,” the club said on Twitter.

Seven Alanyaspor players had rented a VIP minibus to return from the club’s 1-1 draw against Kayserispor on April 28 and the bus crashed some 5 km from the southern coastal town of Alanya, Anadolu Agency said.

The rest of the club’s players and staff had returned with the team bus or on their own, Anadolu said, adding that the driver of the VIP bus had been detained following the accident and an investigation had been launched.

Among the players injured were Stephen Caulker, a former Tottenham Hotspur defender who was capped for England in 2012 and Senegal international, and former Newcastle United player Papisse Cisse.

“Sad news this morning. Sincere condolences to the family and to all loved ones. R.I.P,” Arsenal goalkeeper and fellow Czech international Petr Cech wrote on Twitter in Czech.

Unfortunately, despite having two drivers, they fell asleep and the crash happened,” Alanyaspor chairman Hasan Çavuşoğlu said.

Çavuşoğlu later told CNN-Turk television that the injured players had “small fractures and cuts.”

He said Sural’s wife rushed to the hospital where he informed her of the player’s death. Sural had two young daughters, he said.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said a minute’s silence would be observed for Sural at the start of this week’s league games.

Sural, an attacking midfielder who was 28, had also played for Czech sides FC Brno, Slovan Liberec and Sparta Prague. He was capped 20 times for his country and was a key player in its Euro 2016 campaign.

Alanyaspor, currently fifth in the Spor Toto Super League, drew 1-1 with Kayserispor on April 28.