Deaths in sport are taken very seriously. Actions are taken in response to it. Such actions include: a minute of silence; applause or bell tolls. In a more extreme case, the postponement of matches may take place. A supposed death occured in Bulgaria that caused two Bulgarian football teams to observe a minute's silence. A death didn't occur and an apology has been forced to be made.
The management of Bulgarian top-flight side, Arda Kardzhali, apologised after their former player, Petko Ganchev, whose death they mourned in a minute's silence before Sunday's match with Levski Sofia, turned out to be alive.
Both teams lined up near the centre circle, bowing their heads in Ganchev's honour before the league clash kicked off. However, before the game had ended, Arda posted on their Facebook page saying they had received wrong information about Ganchev's death.
"The management of PFC Arda would like to express a huge apology to the former Arda player Petko Ganchev and his relatives after the club received wrong information about his death," the club wrote. "We wish Petko Ganchev many more years of good health and to enjoy the success of Arda."
Ganchev told Bulgarian station, bTV, that the mix-up resulted in his panicked wife thinking he had died, as well as several calls from concerned friends and relatives.
"I never miss watching Arda's matches on television," Ganchev said. "This time I was about ten minutes late for the game against Levski because I had some work to do."
“As I was driving home, my phone started ringing a lot but I was driving and I didn’t dare to answer. I entered the garden and my wife greeted me in tears."
"She said, 'Petko, Petko, they've announced on TV that you've passed away!' I couldn’t understand what she was saying or what had happened." Arda Kardzhali attempted to rectify their error during the match and put out a statement confirming that Ganchev was still alive.
The home side sent an email to the broadcaster of the clash to explain that they had, 'receive incorrect information' and confirm that Ganchev was in fact still alive.
'The management of PFC Arda would like to express its deepest apologies to the team's former footballer, Petko Ganchev, and his loved ones, after the club received incorrect information regarding his death'.
The sides went on to play out a 1-1 draw which kept alive the hosts' chances of qualifying for the Championship group and securing a European spot for next term. Meanwhile, Levski remained in second place but their title hopes look all but over as they trail leaders, Ludogorets Razgrad, by 12 points.
It's not the first time a former football player has been paid tribute to, despite having not passed away. In 2009, non-league side, Bishop Auckland, held a minute's silence to honour former captain, Tommy Farrer.
The club only later discovered their error when chairman, Terry Jackson, phoned Farrer’s wife, Gladys. When calling to offer his condolences, he was ultimately told: "He will be back in a minute. He’s only popped out to get a paper."
In 2018, Ballybrack FC informed the Leinster Senior League that their player, Fernando Nuno La-Fuente, had been killed in a motorcycle accident. That saw their upcoming game postponed, while a minute of silence was held before the league’s other fixtures.
It transpired, however, that La-Fuente had instead relocated from Dublin to Galway by his employers. The club apologised and described the incident as a, 'gross error of judgment'.
Declaring someone has died is a serious issue. Backtracking on this isn't funny. Proper research and confirmation from close sources should be made instead of jumping to conclusions. I would be infuriated if I had to go through something similar to the events described above.