‘KILLED OFF’ SOCCER STAR NEARLY DIED
Fernando’s life-threatening scare before car crash claim
HOAX car crash victim Fernando Lafuente Saiz had an actual brush with death, the Irish Mirror can reveal.
He suffered life-threatening breathing problems before a Facebook post by his soccer club claimed he had been killed in an accident.
The 29-year-old, who played for Ballybrack in the Leinster Senior League, is now in Spain spending Christmas with his family.
He said: “My wife thought I was going to die. I nearly died – and it was for real this time.”
THESE pictures prove the Spaniard at the centre of the Ballybrack dead footballer hoax had a genuine brush with death.
Fernando Lafuente Saiz made global headlines after it emerged his old Dublin club had pretended he had died in a car crash in order to postpone a game against Arklow Town.
The lie spun out of control so much that players at other games in the Leinster Senior League even paid their respects by wearing black armbands and observing a minute’s silence.
But the Irish Mirror can now reveal the 29-year-old was actually rushed to hospital with life-threatening breathing difficulties shortly before the scandal first broke late last month. Speaking from his family home in Spain, Fernando said: “My wife thought I was going to die. I nearly died – and it was for real thistime.”
His terrifying ordeal all kicked off from a simple tooth infection that suddenly made his jaw shut tight and throat balloon up.
He added: “I couldn’t breathe properly. I feared this was out of my control – this [problem] was expanding so quickly.
“Within a matter of hours I went from having issues with a tooth to start feeling problems breathing.
“I knew from first aid they might have to stick a pen into the throat when someone has problems breathing. My first image was of this and I thought, ‘I don’t want to have a pen put through my throat’.”
It now appears the culprit at Ballybrack, who orchestrated the madcap scam in order to get a game postponed, may have been inspired to kill off Fernando after hearing he had really been at death’s door.
Fernando believes he ended up in hospital because of the huge stress he endured after being handed an eviction notice by his landlord – just one week after moving into the property and forking out a deposit of €2,500.
He revealed: “From the beginning we said we had two dogs. So the agency was aware. We even asked for an unfurnished house due to us having dogs.
“I don’t know why there was a misunderstanding or what happened – we got the eviction notice that you’ve got 30 days. It said you have one week to dispose of the dogs.
“What do people do in this situation? Do they throw the dogs in the bin? How do you dispose of two dogs that are part of your family?
“Due to all the stress of finding a new home I ended up in hospital.”
It all started with a small tooth infection that spiralled dangerously out of control.
The IT worker said: “I couldn’t stand the pain any more.
“I started to have problems with breathing and I couldn’t open my mouth any more. My jaw was closed, so I couldn’t even open it from the pressure.
“I was up in bed and I texted, ‘Hospital’,
It looks like all the media coverage made me more alive than ever FERNANDO LAFUENTE SAIZ ON HIS HORRIFIC ORDEAL
to my wife downstairs. She dropped everything and rang three taxi companies – and we had three taxis at our front door.”
The emergency was immediately brought under control when he reached Galway University Hospital.
He added: “I had never been to a hospital before in an emergency case. I had to fast and they waited until four or five days [before operating].
“It was a complex procedure. They had to get a very big team to do the surgery. They put all these tubes up my nose to breathe artificially.
“The problem was the infection in the tooth spread to the jaws and also to the throat – so the infection was getting bigger. They were putting me on loads of antibiotics but the infection didn’t stop.”
Fernando, who spent five days in hospital and lost almost a stone in weight, said his mother was “really upset” about his hoax death because he had been in such a critical condition only weeks before.
He had to frantically call his wife Louisa, who was back in Spain, when the fake news was announced by Ballybrack on Facebook.
And he has been in hospital again in the past few days to get a suspicious lump on his leg checked out.
He added: “My mother basically thinks my ill health is because of all the stress during the past two months. They’ve been insane.
“The stress was from, first of all, being evicted from the house we were going to live in, in Galway.
“And then I was in hospital – and then I was dead in the news and from all the publicity. There were three major events in these past two months.”
Fernando’s mother forced him to get a full check-up when he went back to Spain to spend Christmas in Valencia with his family.
He said: “She made me go to the dentist. The infection started in the rear tooth so she wanted to make sure my mouth is looking great. “Then she asked me, ‘How are you feeling?’ And my wife told her I have a small lump in the leg. And my mother was like, ‘That’s it. We are going to the doctor’s tomorrow’.
“It looked like an inguinal hernia. But it is a cyst of fat. If it gets bigger they’ll extract it.”
After his release from hospital in October, Fernando faced difficulties trying to reach his landlord. He claimed: “That was another nightmare. He started not picking up the calls.
“But when this Ballybrack story kicked off, he picked up the phone. At the end he gave us €1,000 back, which is much more than I expected.
“My feelings are this story did me good. I am completely sure because he was entitled not to give us any money. He did it because he believed I’m a celebrity.
“I remember a friend telling me, ‘Once you move to Galway it’s going to be incredible. You’re going to love it’.
“I got the whole emotional package. I’ve been evicted. I’ve found a new house which is brilliant.
“Then I nearly died. Then I died in the news. So, I think I’ve gone through all the extremes.
“There is this saying, ‘Galway is the graveyard of ambition’. I said, ‘The story is different now – Galway is the graveyard of Fernando’.
“But I’m alive and kicking. It looks like all the media coverage made me more alive than ever.”