Wednesday’s Hot Clicks: Soccer Player Responds to Team Faking His Death

“That’s how I found out that I was dead.”

“That’s how I found out that I was dead.”

That's Liffey Wanderers holding a minute's silence for a player Ballybrack FC said had died in a car crash but was actually alive and well in Spain. pic.twitter.com/uF0ofGILg1

— PJ Browne (@P_J_Browne) November 27, 2018

A soccer team in Ireland’s third tier finds itself in hot water after it was caught faking the death of one of its players in order to get a match postponed, and now the supposedly dead player has spoken out about the hoax. 

Ballybrack FC, a Dublin-based team in the Leinster Senior League, told the league Friday that Fernando LaFuente had died in a car crash on his way home from practice the night before. The club asked that its game Saturday against Arklow be postponed, and the request was granted. Other teams in the league posted messages of condolence on social media. They also wore black armbands and observed moments of silence before their matches this weekend.

But LaFuente is not dead, he had just flown to spend the weekend in his native Spain. He did an interview on RTE Radio 1 on Wednesday to explain the whole thing.

“I was yesterday at home, after my work finished, playing some video games,” LaFuente told host Sean O’Rourke, as transcribed by Balls.ie. “I got a call from work and I was like, ‘Oh, what’s happened?’

“They told me, ‘You’re a celebrity’ and I was like, ‘Why is that?’ They started sending me all these news articles.

“That’s how I found out that I was dead.”

LaFuente knew something was up when he was removed from his team’s group chat on WhatsApp. He said he was told that there would be some news coming out about him but he thought it would be more along the lines of a broken leg, not a fatal car crash.

LaFuente isn’t holding a grudge against the club though. 

“It’s serious on their part but I’m finding it a little bit funny because, basically, I’m not dead and no one has actually been harmed,” he said.

Literally the most unlikely of heroes

"IN THE MOST STUNNING RESULT OF THIS ECHL SEASON"

The final moments of tonight's win, as @nickniedert makes 38 saves for the 2-1 win. pic.twitter.com/lTo8PlNnFd

— Reading Royals (@ReadingRoyals) November 25, 2018

Nick Niedert is 36 years old. He’s the manager of a sporting goods store in western Connecticut. He’s played a bunch of low-level professional hockey but not on a regular basis since the 2016–17 season with the Danbury Whalers, a short-lived expansion team in the extremely fledgling Federal Hockey League. And this weekend he stopped 38 of 39 shots to lead the ECHL’s Reading Royals to victory as an emergency backup goaltender. 

The best of SI

Washington’s decision to claim Reuben Foster shows the franchise only cares about one thing. ... Here’s what’s at stake in the college football conference championship games this weekend. ... The drama is far from over in the case of the Boca Juniors-River Plate Copa Libertadores final.

Around the sports world

Rockets forward P.J. Tucker really, really loves pancakes. ... Sage Northcutt, who honestly has the strangest personality of any professional athlete today, was cut by UFC. ... An Irish soccer team admitted to faking the death of one of its players. 

Look at the goalie getting physical!

Here’s the first look at Rangers’ new stadium

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Texas Rangers ⚾️ (@rangers)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Texas Rangers ⚾️ (@rangers)

Definitely a contender for save of the year

Check out this unreal hand-eye coordination

Victor Oladipo is the guy in college who just started going to the gym and wants everyone to know it

I can’t believe I missed this Buttfumble retrospective

Ho hum, another Zion windmill

Not sports

Netflix is partnering with the estate of Roald Dahl. ... Spongebob Squarepants creator Stephen Hillenburg died after a battle with ALS. ... A South Dakota man lost his wallet and a stranger returned it with more money than he lost. ... Color me shocked that Elon Musk is abandoning plans for one of his magic tunnels in Los Angeles. 

That’s a big cow, I tell you what

Anyone who does this needs an intervention

Conan pranked by paralympian

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.