Players mourn Nieuwenhuizen
Players and spectators at the opening match of FIFA's Club World Cup in Japan observed a moment of silence on Thursday (December 6) after the death of a linesman in the Netherlands on Sunday (December 2).
Richard Nieuwenhuizen, 41, died on Monday after an under-17 match in Almere on Sunday. He was officiating for the Buitenboys team, for whom his son plays.
Three teenaged players, two aged 15 and one 16, will be charged with manslaughter, assault or public violence over the death of Nieuwenhuizen, according to Dutch prosecutors
Police arrested the three members of the Nieuw-Sloten Amsterdam youth team after the incident, in which the linesman fell to the ground. Nieuwenhuizen collapsed hours after the match and was taken to hospital where he fell into a coma. He died the following day.
Players of Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Auckland City football club stood on the pitch for the silence before the opening match of the tournament in Yokohama.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has expressed his "sadness and distress" at the incident in a letter to the Dutch FA (KNVB).
