Fatal FIFA World Cup? Chinese football fan dies in front of TV

The World Cup may have cost a young Chinese man his life after he probably died of sleep deprivation after spending nights awake watching tournament games.

A 25-year-old man from eastern Chinese city of Suzhou was found dead in his room on Saturday morning in front of his TV set, which was still airing a football match, Xinhua news reports. It is believed that the last game the man watched was Netherlands-Spain (5-1) match.

The body was taken to the local Xiangcheng People's Hospital, where doctors suggested that the cause of death could have been excessive sleep deprivation and, hence, physical exhaustion. Medics, however, did not specify what exactly may have caused this fatality as they also can’t rule out a heart attack.

At least three Chinese football fans have reportedly died after staying up to watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) June 17, 2014

Even though China is not represented at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Chinese football fans have nevertheless been watching closely broadcasts from Brazil from midnight to 6am Beijing time. The time difference between China and Brazil is 11 hours, meaning that Chinese fans who want to follow matches live may only do so overnight.

Now doctors are warning football fans in China about sacrificing sleep during the tournament and had called for them to be wary about their health.

There were cases before when a football tournament turned a tragedy in China. During the Euro 2012 a fan spent 11 sleepless nights watching every game of the championship and died from exhaustion.

Back in 2006 and 2010, when World Cups were held in Germany and South Africa respectively, Chinese hospitals saw a surge in patients admitted with symptoms of exhaustion, Xinhua reported.