Bernard Gonzalez, a French doctor working for Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims who had contracted the COVID-19, has committed suicide at the age of 60 while in confinement at home with his wife, also infected.
"Devastated. the Stade de Reims is crying this Sunday for doctor Bernard Gonzalez," the club said in a statement released on Sunday.
French media outlet Le Parisien reported that Gonzalez has left a detailed letter linking his death to the infection with coronavirus.
Arnaud Robinet, the mayor of Reims, said he is stunned by the tragedy.
"I send thoughts to his parents, his wife, his family," said the mayor, who had met the doctor about a month ago. "He will be missed by the football family and all those in Reims who met him."
The whole club of Reims was thrown into mournfulness after Gonzalez's death, as president Jean-Pierre Caillot said "this pandemic strikes the Stade de Reims in the heart."
"A great personality and great professional of the sport has left us," said Caillot. "He was a precise doctor in his mission and an artist in his passion."
Over 90,000 cases have been confirmed in France as of Monday, while more than 8,000 people have died of the deadly virus.
