The fact that Nacional defeated Albion 1-0 with a Luis Suarez goal in the 88th minute almost meant absolutely nothing, during the poor 0-0 affair, up until that point, when Franco Galípolo, a U-14 player and ball boy for Albion fell down the underground stairs of the Estadio Centenario.
The shocking scene horrified the players who immediately called the match to stop so medics could attend the boy. What was captured by cameras and cellphones was Franco Galípolo trying to grab a ball that was heading away from the field, in the process the young man jumped up but did not measure his steps and fell straight down the stairs that lead to the underground dressing rooms of the mythic stadium.
As the players rushed to see if Franco Galípolo was okay it took several minutes for the first aid team to get to the area where the boy had fallen. The motorized car moved at almost a snail’s pace while players looked on in distress.
Franco Galípolo was okay and got Luis Suarez’s jersey
Franco Galípolo was taken to the emergency clinic within the stadium but was okay. “Luckily it was nothing and it was just a blow,” Galípolo said, “it was a high ball, I wanted to jump to catch it, I went back, I just turned around and I could put my hands, if I had not fallen with my head.”
Galípolo also stated he “feared the worst” but despite the scare actually returned to the field to continue his game duties. After the match Luis Suarez gave the young man his jersey.
Nacional sit first in the Clausura championship with Luis Suarez being pivotal for Los Tricolores since his big time return to Uruguayan soccer.
