Lokeren mourning death of Grégory Mertens
Thursday, April 30, 2015
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Tributes have been paid to KSC Lokeren OV defender Grégory Mertens, who has died from heart failure three days after collapsing during a reserve-team match.
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Belgian football is mourning the death of KSC Lokeren OV defender Grégory Mertens, who has passed away three days after collapsing in a reserve match.
The 24-year-old suffered heart failure 20 minutes into a second-team encounter with KRC Genk on Monday. Mertens was treated on the pitch and then transported to hospital in Genk, where he died around 16.30CET today.
"Today something happened that nobody ever thought could or would," read a club statement. "Everyone in Lokeren is in shock: players, staff, employees and the board. It is impossible to understand what has happened. Grégory was only at the club for a year and a half, but in that short time he made himself an invaluable person through his calm, down-to-earth nature."
The former RSC Anderlecht youth player joined Lokeren in January 2014 from Cercle Brugge KSV and had made 22 Eerste Klasse appearances for the side. He featured three times in the UEFA Europa League this season, including group stage outings against Trabzonspor AŞ and FC Metalist Kharkiv.
