Four football players collapsed during a game between two promotion contenders in Peru after being given drinks allegedly spiked with a sedative. Hijos de Acosvinchos were playing their rivals Sport Ancash when during a break, several of their team drank from water bottles given to them by coaching or medical staff with their opponents.
Shortly afterwards one of the players, the defender Andy Salinas, collapsed followed by three of his team-mates, Juan Luna, Martin Reategui and Luis Coello. Television cameras captured the scenes as players from Hijos de Acosvinchos, based in the capital Lima, confronted the opposition, who play in the city of Huaraz. Sport Ancash went on to win 3-0 to secure promotion to Peru´s first division but their opponents have urged the football authorities to investigate before confirming the result.
Hospital tests showed that the players had traces of benzodiazepine, a class of drug used to treat insomia, in their blood. Americo Ibanez, manager of Hijos de Acosvinchos, said the team was intending to launch a formal complaint. "My boys say Ancash staff gave them a liquid which made them feel dizzy and faint," he said.
"When they returned the bottles so the other team drank from them as well, someone snatched them out of their hands." Pele Mallqui, president of Sport Ancash, blamed a heavy meal he claimed the opposition ate before Sunday´s match for what followed. "They ate barbecued chicken with spices and ended up taking indigestion tablets afterwards," he claimed. "I´m sure these four men fainted because of that and the physical effort they put in."
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