STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Players from Swiss team Young Boys held up teammate Meschack Elia’s shirt as a tribute during their Champions League game at Stuttgart after his son died this week.
Lukasz Lakomy gave Young Boys the lead with a powerful long-range shot in the sixth minute Wednesday and ran toward the sideline, where he held up Elia’s shirt as his teammates gathered around him.
Young Boys said in a statement earlier Wednesday that one of Elia’s sons had “died completely unexpectedly following a short illness” in Elia’s home country of Congo. The 27-year-old Elia was on his way to Congo to be with his family, the club added.
Both teams wore black armbands during the game, and there was a moment of silence before kickoff.
Young Boys, from the Swiss capital Bern, was seeking to pick up its first points of this year’s Champions League in the game at Stuttgart.
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