Goalkeeper killed by lighting

AUSTRALIA – Australian football goalkeeper Stefan Petrovski has died in hospital after being struck by lightning during training in Malaysia.

Petrovski, 18, was training with Malaysian club Melaka United on April 5 when lightning struck the goalposts he and a team-mate were standing near.

He had been in a coma in intensive care since then, but the club confirmed Petrovski’s death on Sunday.

“Melaka United have lost one of their valuable gem as their reserve goalkeeper Marko Stefan Petrovski, 18, passed away later this evening,” the club said in a statement on Facebook.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) said it was saddened by Petrovski’s death.

“On behalf of the Australian football community, FFA sends their deepest condolences to the Petrovski family, friends and team mates,” the FFA said in a statement.

Petrovski’s 21-year-old team-mate Muhd Afiq Azuan, the other player admitted to hospital, eventually regained consciousness and was stabilised.

Petrovski, of Serbian and Malaysian descent, was signed to the Malaysian Premier League club on a three-year deal after receiving Malaysian citizenship, but was yet to make his debut for the club.

He signed for Melaka from New South Wales club Sydney Olympic, which expressed its deep sadness at Petrovski’s ‘tragic passing’.

“Stefan was a promising young goalkeeper who had the world at his feet having recently signed a professional three-year-deal with Malaysian side Melaka United,” Sydney Olympic said in a statement.

The FFA’s head of national performance, Luke Casserly, said Petrovski was part of a contingent of Australians playing in Malaysia.

In Malaysia, the goalkeeper had caught the eye of former Socceroo Scott Ollerenshaw, who manages a number of Australian players who have made the move into Asia.

Casserly said with only nine professional soccer clubs in Australia, ambitious young players were increasingly looking further afield.

“By taking that step at his age it certainly shows he had the desire and the mentality to put everything into chasing that football dream.”

He said the tragedy was a reminder of the many Australian families who have sons and daughters playing overseas.

“We have some 250-odd players in different parts of the world playing at all different times,” he said.

- ABC