Czech striker Josef Šural mourned

The Czech Republic and Alanyaspor are mourning their striker Josef Šural, who has died following a road accident in Turkey.

Šural was killed in the crash which involved a vehicle bringing him and several Alanyaspor team-mates back from a domestic league match against Kayserispor. 

The 28-year-old made his name in the Czech Republic with Brno, Liberec and Sparta Praha, captaining Sparta before joining Alanyaspor on a two-and-a-half year contract in January. He played nine Super League matches for them, scoring once. Šural also netted once in 20 Czech Republic games, and was a member of the squad at UEFA EURO 2016 in France.

"I would like to express my deepest sympathy to all of his family and friends," said Martin Malík, president of the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR). "Josef was a modest man who will be missed by all of us."

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has announced that there will be a minute's silence to commemorate Šural before the start of every professional league fixture to be played until 6 May. "Our hearts are aching," said Alanyaspor coach Sergen Yalçın. "He was the most hard-working player in the team. He was a very disciplined and examplary player."