Africa
Memorial Send Off for Cheick Tiote While Andy Cole Speaks Out on Increasing Sport-Related Deaths
It has been an emotional couple of days since the sudden death of Cheick Tiote, who collapsed during a training session with his club Beijing Enterprises last Monday.
There has since been an outpour of tributes to the former Newcastle United and Ivory Coast midfielder with ex-United team-mate Papiss Cisse, leading in participation at a memorial service held in Beijing on Tuesday, June 14.
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Current and former teammates along with friends of the deceased joined family members for the memorial service.
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Cisse, who plays for Shandong Lueng could not hold back tears saying, “I lived some extraordinary moments with this man and today he’s gone.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”He was like a brother. We shared a lot in life. His family was my family.”[/perfectpullquote]
Didier Drogba, the former Ivorian international and teammate of the late, also paid an emotional tribute after a remarkable debut win for Phoenix Rising.
Tiote’s body is due to be flown back to Côte d’Ivoire this week where a private funeral will take place however, reports suggest that an official confirmation of death is still pending.
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While on the subject, Tiote’s death is not without questions, coming just a little under two months after former Aston Villa defender Ugo Ethiogu, collapsed and died of a cardiac arrest.
Former Manchester United and England striker Andy Cole told BBC Radio Five Live, “If someone is only 30 and they pass away, the question that is naturally going to be asked is ‘Why? What’s gone on there? Why has he passed away so early?
“It’s a strange one. Cheick Tiote hadn’t been in China that long – a few months – so he must have had a medical to complete the transfer. Was nothing picked up in that medical?
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Is anything actually being done? Is it being looked into? We need to nail it down and get to the bottom of why and what it is because it seems to be happening to more and more professional footballers – fit, strong men.”[/perfectpullquote]
Tiote made over 150 appearances in seven years for Newcastle before joining Beijing Enterprises in February. The 30-year-old was an Africa Nations Cup winner with Ivory Coast in 2015 and played in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
His memorable equalizer in Newcastle’s 4-4 remarkable draw against Arsenal will go down as one of the many majestic strikes in football history.
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