Cameroon Player Marc-Vivien Foe Dies By BARRY HATTON Associated Press Writer June 26, 2003, 4:23 PM EDT LYON, France -- Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed in the heat Thursday during the Confederations Cup semifinal against Colombia on Thursday and later died, FIFA said. The 28-year old player fell during the game, which was played in temperatures in the high 80s. He was lapping into unconsciousness when he was carried off the field on a stretcher to the sideline, where he received treatment, including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen. FIFA's medical officer, Alfred Mueller, said doctors tried to resuscitate Foe for 45 minutes but were unsuccessful. "It is a very bad situation for international soccer, for FIFA, for the players, for the player's family and for Cameroon soccer," Mueller said. The cause of death wasn't immediately determined; an autopsy was planned. Lyon has been in the midst of a heat wave, with temperatures soaring into the 90s during recent afternoons. Foe played the first 59 minutes in Cameroon's opener against Brazil on June 19, played 90 minutes two days later against Turkey, then sat out Monday's game against the United States. Foe, who played for Manchester City, had eight goals in 64 appearances for Cameroon's national team. At the World Cup last year, Foe played the full 90 minutes in all three of Cameroon's games. In his career, Foe played at Olympique Lyon, the stadium where he died, from 2000-02. Manchester City released a statement saying the club was "devastated" by Foe's death. Foe "made an excellent contribution to our successful return to the Premiership and was very highly regarded by his fellow players," the statement said. "He will be sadly missed by his teammates -- not just as a player but also as a friend." On Thursday, Cameroon beat Colombia 1-0 to advance to the final. At Stade de France, in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis where the other semifinal was played, the crowd of about 40,000 held a moment of silence before France's game with Turkey. An announcement of Foe's death was made over the public address system in French, English and Turkish and the player's picture was displayed on the video boards. With some of the players bowing their heads, about 40 seconds of silence was observed. A few of the Turkish fans shouted as French fans tried to quiet them. Several coaches, including the United States' Bruce Arena, have criticized FIFA for the lack of off-days during the tournament, saying it was unfair to force players to play so many times in such a short span. FIFA went to a short scheduled this year in order to give players on European clubs more of a summer break before the 2003-2004 European seasons begin. Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, visit: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/aam.html AAM Website: http://www.danenet.wicip.org/aam ----------------------------------------------------------------------------