In a poignant tribute during their Champions League match against Stuttgart, players from Swiss club Young Boys displayed the shirt of their teammate Meschack Elia, whose son tragically passed away earlier this week.
The tribute came in the sixth minute of the match when Lukasz Lakomy scored with a powerful long-range shot. He ran to the sidelines to raise Elia’s shirt, joined by his teammates in solidarity.
Earlier that day, Young Boys released a statement revealing that Elia’s son had “died completely unexpectedly following a short illness” in Elia’s home country of Congo. The 27-year-old player was informed of the news on Tuesday evening and was en route to Congo to be with his family.
Both teams wore black armbands during the match, and a moment of silence was observed before kickoff.
Despite the tribute, Stuttgart secured a 5-1 victory, marking Young Boys’ sixth consecutive loss in the tournament. Young Boys captain Loris Benito expressed the team’s grief, stating that the match outcome was insignificant in light of their loss.
“I honestly have to tell you that this evening is not about sport at all for us, but about the tragedy that we experienced yesterday,” Benito told broadcaster DAZN. “It is so unimaginable and everything else is irrelevant when you experience this.”
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