The tragic death of Mattia Giani, a young Eccellenza footballer and striker for Castelfiorentino United, is a warning that we cannot fail to heed. He screams and tears our chests in pain. She also generates fear, because you cannot control or prevent certain events but you can have the tools to deal with them. At least try. Dai Colli Fiorentini weekly reports on the football of the suburbs, lives the fields, tramples them and strikes as Mattia Giani could have been any of us: amateur or youth sector footballers, amateurs even Thursday night players engaged in Csen football or among friends. It sensationally concerns us all, in a “twist” of fate that took away the Pisan striker on the same day that he took his life Piermario Morosini: April 14th. Yesterday it was 2012, today it is 2024.
Mattia Giani was currently wearing the Castelfiorentino shirt, born in 1998, had a past in the youth teams of Empoli and Pisa, he had also played with Grosseto, Real Forte Querceta and Savona. He was monitored annually for the renewal of sports eligibility, mandatory at these levels, yet the ordinary check was not effective, simply because a screening – even if carried out carefully – does not have 100% capacity to identify every critical issue. Furthermore, the laborious reconstruction of the Sunday event that occurred on the Lanciotto pitch it certainly tells of the absence of an ambulance, which arrived only after the call: to reconstruct the rescue process, the Florence prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.
First of all, we would like to underline that in the regulation of the National Amateur League, we read the following:
“To the host clubs of the regional championships of Excellence is a must to have a doctor designated by them present at each match, equipped with a document certifying the personal identity and professional activity carried out and available to the host team and the hosted team. Alternatively, the host clubs of the Regional Championships of Excellence are required to have an ambulance at the edge of the playing field. To the clubs that participate in other activities organized by the National Amateur League it is recommended to comply with the aforementioned provision”…
Therefore, there is a requirement for a doctor and/or ambulance in Excellence, their presence is recommended from the Promotion onwards. The simple reason is explained to us Dr. Bernardo Baccani, Cardiologist at the OSMA of Ponte a Niccheri and former amateur footballer:
“In the event of loss of consciousness due to cardiac arrest, time is the determining variable, every minute that passes drastically reduces the victim’s chances of survival. Therefore intervening immediately is crucial, possibly within the 3-4 minutes after the illness, i.e. the maximum time in which the brain can generally remain without oxygen. For this reason it is not acceptable that in every sports field there is not either a working defibrillator – and clearly who knows how to use it – or an ambulance at the service of those present.”
Often there are not enough ambulances for each race, considering the very high number of sporting commitments. Is there an alternative solution?
“Yes and it is easily practicable. I sincerely hope that this terrible tragedy will serve as a stimulus to improve training and ability to react to similar situations: sPracticing first aid, BLS or BLSD or basic resuscitation practices, with or without a defibrillator, can save a life. In the absence of a doctor or ambulance, even a non-healthcare worker who has attended the training course and knows how to behave can be decisive in reactivating the heartbeat: feel the pulse and if it doesn’t beat, activate the planned actions or press on the chest with the two hands clasped, just like you see in the movies. It is really easy to carry out basic resuscitation and it is important that civilians understand the importance of it through awareness raising and know how to carry it outthus being able to overcome any absence of ambulances and professionals.”
Given this consideration, what do you recommend?
“Invite sports clubs, at the beginning of the season, to identify a certain number of key figures and train them with a BLS-D and/or first aid course: for example sports director, coach, captain and other players. Intervening immediately and knowing how to do it correctly can save the life of a companion.”
What are your thoughts on the tragedy that hit Mattia Giani?
“I have read a lot of misinformation in the various newspapers: a boy does not die of a heart attack, if anything, a heart attack is among the causes of a cardiac arrest, but not the only one. In young people, myocardial infarction (due to occlusion of a coronary artery) is a very rare event: the autopsy will clarify the cause but I could already say that Mattia did not have a heart attack. The most frequent causes of cardiac arrest are congenital heart defects such as, for example, Brugada syndrome: this is how Astori died, for example. Certain cases cannot be discovered by a screening carried out to authorize athletes to participate in sporting activity: the annual check-up form cannot prevent all caseswhile raising awareness among the population and providing the appropriate tools to be able to react in a few moments to a sudden illness is much more decisive.”
Tags: death Mattia Giani interview cardiologist Baccani
