THE sight of a fan receiving emergency treatment at the side of the park is always traumatic but it has an added grim resonance for Kilmarnock football club.
Twice in the past year a member of the crowd has died when watching the Ayrshire side. Yesterday, sadly, that figure became three after a supporter passed away in hospital after collapsing in the stand.
The desperate struggle to tend to the fan occurred after 51 minutes of the match. He was carried from the stand, laid by the side of the park as frantic efforts were made to resuscitate him before he was taken to hospital after an ambulance was driven on to the pitch.
Referee Kevin Clancy removed the players from the pitch and the match was abandoned 26 minutes later with the score at 1-1.
In April, a supporter died at Rugby Park during the match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and this followed the death of Jack Kelly, father of then Kilmarnock player Liam Kelly, after Kenny Shiels' side had defeated Celtic in the Scottish Communities League Cup final at Hampden.
The decision first to stop and then abandon the match was made unavoidable after the fan had been carried from the main stand and was the subject of strenuous efforts to aid him in front of the crowd of more than 2000. Club doctors from both clubs rushed across to the East Stand to tend to the man who was described as "a long-term season ticketholder".
Referee Clancy picked up the ball when he became aware of the situation and, after a meeting with the team managers, the police match commander and Frank Coulston, the SPL match delegate, he abandoned the match.
The incident brought back awful memories of the league cup final to Cammy Bell, the Kilmarnock goalkeeper. "It was obviously a terrible situation with what happened, especially being so close to the pitch and the referee made the right decision in stopping the game because you couldn't pay attention to the game when someone is trying to get their life saved," he said. "It's one of these things that puts football into perspective. Obviously Liam's dad still plays on our mind and we'll never forget that because it was an important day in our lives but also a sad day."
Of the abandonment, he said: "We just try to be as professional as we can, we were ready to come back out if we got the go ahead to play again but I think they made the right call at the end of the day to respect the family and the ones who were around the situation."
The Kilmarnock manager said the decision had been made "out of respect to the relevant families". Shiels added: "We've been through this three times now in just over a year. An Inverness fan lost their life as well as Liam's father. Football isn't as important as human life. We've shown our respect, both clubs."
He said he and Pat Fenlon, the Hibs manager, were asked their views about the situation and agreed the game should be abandoned. "The match officials and match delegate were very good. It was purely out of respect for the family because we were told it was a very serious heart attack," added Shiels.
Coulston, the SPL match delegate, said: "The decision was the right one in terms of respect and the length of time the game had been stopped. "When things were trackside we realised it was serious."
Michael Johnston, the Kilmarnock chairman, admitted there was "a rawness" about what was witnessed when Kelly's father took ill at Hampden. Of yesterday's incident, he said: "It was a very public scene, and I think that weighed heavily with the decision of the managers, players, match commander and referee."
He said the match, abandoned at 1-1 after Kris Boyd equalised Alex Harris's opener for Hibs, may be replayed on Wednesday, May 15.
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