handball tragedy

Players Hurt In Attack

In shocking news, handball is a sport that is apparently played outside of the Olympics. Even more shocking, it's taken very seriously. In fact, it's a matter of life or death for some.

One of the Romanian stars of the sport, Marian Cozma, was killed in the attack outside a nightclub in Hungary over the weekend.

Also injured were handball players Ivan Pesic, a Croatian, and Zarko Sesum, from Serbia. All of the men, who play for handball club MKB Veszprem, were celebrating the birth of a teammate's child.According to one teammate, Romanian national handball team player Valentin Ghionea: "Everything happened in about 40 minutes. Marian (Cozma) came back from the toilet and was hit in the back. Then, he was hit in the face, and a man threw a chair at him. At that moment, his colleagues stood up from the table, his lover, too. He was pushed away down a stairway; it's there where it all happened."Serb player Zarko Sesum told me that, by the time he had managed to get out, Marian was already dead. He ran after one of the attackers but was too injured to catch him. Sesum and Pesic tried in vain to resuscitate Marian." The incident is threatening to throw the Balkans and the rest of Eastern Europe into chaos. No, really.The father of the injured Serbian player has reportedly called in Serbia's Paramilitary to take action against the attackers, with 300 men saying they are ready for duty.Meanwhile, many have blamed the handball attack on the local Roma population, further inflaming racial tension in a region not exactly known for everyone getting along. Hundreds gathered to honor the slain Cozma, and anti-Roma chants were heard. The radical nationalist Hungarian Guard were also present. Many Youtube tributes have also been posted, most of which have an anti-Gypsy message somewhere within. Some attackers fled to Austria, and police have made 3 arrests so far, two men aged 28 and 31 and a 37-year-old woman. While 99% of this story is horrific, there is one nice bit to report. Croatian handballer Ivan Pesic had to have a kidney removed after being stabbed, but the father of Marian Cozma has offered to donate one of his.Maybe there's a glimmer of hope out there after all.3 arrested in handball player slaying [B92]Serbian Paramilitary Planning Revenge for Attack? [Javno]Father of murdered Romanian handballer wants to donate a kidney to Ivan Pesic [Croatian Times] var addthis_pub="asujon"; Social Bookmarking Posted by Jonathan at 12:09 PM 0 comments Labels: Crime, Croatia, Handball, Hungary, Ivan Pesic, Marian Cozma, MKB Veszprem, Murder, Racism, Romania, Serbia, Stabbings, Zarko Sesum window.google_render_ad();