Amateur Irish club Ballybrack have apologised for incorrectly reporting that Fernando Nuno La-Fuente had died and postponing a fixture against Arklow Town.
The south Dublin outfit told the Leinster Senior League their player had passed away in a traffic accident, which prompted other matches to stage a minute’s silence in his honour.
Both teams observing a minute silence in memory of Ballybrack player Fernando Nuno La-Fuante who was killed in a traffic…
Posted by Liffey Wanderers FC on Saturday, 24 November 2018
It then transpired that La-Fuente is very much alive, but this only emerged after the league had placed a death notice in an Irish newspaper.
Although they were told that the player was in his native Spain, according to RTÉ Sport he was in fact in Galway.
Journalist Darren Cleary tweeted that the league became suspicious when Ballybrack failed to provide any information regarding a funeral.
A probe has now been launched and Ballybrack’s secretary has resigned.
The club also issued the following statement on the matter:
In response to recent events and the information which is currently in circulation across social and mainstream media….
Posted by Ballybrack Fc on Tuesday, 27 November 2018
A residential suburb located in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ballybrack is where Robbie Keane married former Miss Ireland contestant Claudine Palmer in 2008.