A young Greek footballer dies following a heart attack after reportedly collapsing during a Greek third-tier game in Athens on Wednesday, February 2.

21-year-old Alexandros Lampis suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed 5 minutes into the game as his side Ilioupoli faced off against A.E. Ermoinida in the Gamma Ethniki league.

According to the Sun, the stadium had no defibrillator on-site and an ambulance took 20 minutes to arrive. Sadly, by the time they tried to resuscitate him on the pitch, it was too late and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to local reports.

The club confirmed that attacking midfielder’s passing via a post on Facebook.

The club wrote: “Our Aleko, our friend, our brother, you left so unjustly.

“The whole team, the whole city is mourning today.

“The words do not come out… only an unbearable pain and a knot in the stomach. Have a good trip Alecara.”

Lampis’ death follows an alarming number of similar tragedies to hit footballers and athletes in recent months. High-profile cardiac arrests have struck the likes of Christian Eriksen and Sergio Aguero, who were both thankfully able to avoid death.

Mali international Ousmane Coulibaly also narrowly avoided death thanks to the quick actions of former Everton and Real Madrid star James Rodriguez and the excellent work of medical personnel.

However, others have not been so lucky.

25-year-old Marcos Menaldo of Deportivo Marquense of Guatemala collapsed at the end of training on Monday, January 3 following a heart attack before later passing away in the hospital.

Oman international Mukhaled Al-Raqadi (29) and Croatian second-tier footballer Marin Cacic (23) both passed away after suffering heart attacks in December 2021.

Another player from Oman, Munther Al-Harassi, 30, also suffer a cardiac arrest and died shortly afterwards on Saturday, January 22.

Incidentally, Swiss athletes Fabienne Schlumpf and Sarah Atcho have both suffered heart problems, with Atcho blaming her newly diagnosed condition, pericarditis – an inflammation of the membrane that covers the heart – on the Covid-19 vaccine. Both Schlumpf and Atcho are tripled vaccinated.