This is the moment a 20-year-old football player fatally collapses during a match with friends on artificial turf, sparking online debate about safety on synthetic grass.
The incident happened at an artificial-turf football pitch in the University neighbourhood of Avcilar, a district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, on 15th August.
Security camera footage shows Ahmet Gul taking part in the game before he suddenly falls to the ground.
Other players immediately rush towards him after realising something is wrong.
Friends quickly alerted emergency services, and paramedics were sent to the pitch.
Medical crews gave Ahmet first aid at the scene before taking him to hospital by ambulance.
Despite efforts by doctors to save him, the young player died in hospital.
Local reports said Ahmet had completed his compulsory military service and returned home to his family around 20 days before the tragedy.
His body was taken to the Forensic Medicine Institute morgue so specialists could determine the exact cause of death.
Ahmet's death prompted renewed debate in Turkey about safety at artificial-turf five-a-side football pitches, known locally as "hali sahas", which when translated from Turkish means "carpet pitch".
Local media said the tragedy reignited concerns over the lack of medical screening before amateur players take part in intensive matches on artificial surfaces.
Commenting online, one social media user said: "An automated external defibrillator should be required at every artificial-turf football centre."
Another wrote: "We say it all the time but nobody listens. Everything from the boots to the artificial turf is plastic. The body cannot discharge the static electricity it builds up and, in my opinion, it stops the heart. These pitches should either use real grass or be shut down immediately."
Experts, however, have dismissed the widely repeated claim as an urban legend and say that when someone suddenly drops unconscious or dies during a small-sided football match on a halı saha, the cause is almost universally Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) usually triggered by an underlying, undiagnosed heart condition and combined with sudden physical stress.
Others online also defended the facility itself, arguing that players should ensure they are physically prepared before taking part in matches.
One commenter said: "What do you mean 'shut them down immediately'? Matches are played here every day and this is a whole industry. Accidents happen in factories and on roads too. May God have mercy on the young man, but people should not step onto the pitch without training or proper conditioning."
Several people also highlighted the importance of emergency response and first-aid training.
One wrote: "Everyone in society needs to know first aid. It should be taught through practical classes from primary school onwards and repeated every year."
Authorities launched an investigation into the incident.
(Marija Stojkoska/Newsflash)
