Foe felt unwell before match - wife

The wife of Marc-Vivien Foe has revealed that her husband had been suffering from illness in the build-up to Cameroon’s Confederations Cup match with Colombia.

Marie-Louise Foe said the 28-year-old midfielder had been struggling with dysentery but was desperate to play at the home of his French club Lyon.

“He should not have been playing at all. He had dysentery for two or three days. He also had gastric problems and he knew he probably wasn’t well enough to play,” said Mrs Foe.

“When he collapsed, I never thought he would die. I assumed he’d get up or recover on the sidelines. The family is in utter shock.

“He desperately wanted to play for his country in his adopted home-town of Lyon. But doctors should have stopped him,” quotes The Sun.

Professional Footballers Association chairman Gordon Taylor believes Foe’s death highlights the need to give players more thorough and regular health tests.

“We do heart screen tests on all the youngsters who come into the game at 16 just to make sure everything is okay,” Taylor said.

“This is also a reminder to all clubs to have regular medical check-ups.

“We have arranged for league managers to have regular checks and that has been successful. A number of managers have been found to have problems because of stress in the game. It (testing) is obviously something we should be asking clubs to do on a regular basis.

“You can never be sure in this instance if there was a problem that could not be detected and that is why clubs should be reminded that regular check-ups should not just include orthopaedic tests but the heart as well.”

A post-mortem has ruled out a stroke as the cause of Foe’s death and the exact cause of death is likely to be revealed in the next few days.

The premature death of Foe has also reopened the debate over the number of games top-level footballers are required to play.

Midfielder Foe, who spent last season on loan at Manchester City, collapsed during his country’s 1-0 win over Colombia and later died despite frantic efforts to revive him.

Although the cause of death has yet to be established, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand – a team-mate of Foe at West Ham – believes the tragedy points to a wider problem affecting the health of players.

He told Sky Sports News: “I’m not sure the reasons how this has come about but this is a big talking point that needs to be looked into.

“I think players do need to recharge. This is my longest break since I have been a professional and that’s because I’ve been injured.

“I feel very recharged. I have had four weeks off but a lot of professionals don’t get four weeks off.”

Ferdinand also questioned whether the Confederations Cup was a necessary tournament when a lot of players may still not have had a lengthy break since last year’s World Cup.

He added: “I don’t think the competition is worthwhile. It’s not a World Cup or European Championship. Why do we need another one?

“I will remember him (Foe) as a great professional, a loveable guy who never had a bad word to say about anyone.”

The Confederations Cup final will go ahead on Sunday as scheduled after the Cameroon team confirmed they were willing to play the match against France.

The team will pay tribute to Foe by wearing shirts bearing his name for the game. FIFA have cancelled all forms of pre-match entertainment.

Criticism of the tournament’s itinerary has been rejected by Chuck Blazer, president of the event’s organising committee.

He pointed out that Foe had been rested for the group game immediately prior to Thursday night’s semi-final against Colombia.

Blazer said: “Marc-Vivien Foe had not played in Cameroon’s third (group match) so he had the opportunity to rest before facing Colombia. I don’t agree with linking this tragedy to the playing conditions of the Confederations Cup.

“We now have to wait for the conclusion of the autopsy.”