Belarus Premier League side, FC Vitebsk, have said the drowning of Nigerian footballer, Kelvin Odenigbo, was an “accident.”
In a statement published on Instagram on Monday, the club confirmed that “according to forensic examination, no traces of violence were found on the footballer’s body, no traces of alcohol in [Kelvin’s blood]. It was an accident – a drowning which shocked us all.”
The PUNCH reported on Sunday that the 20-year-old FC Vitebsk footballer had been found dead in a lake in Belarus on June 5, 2021, by employees of the Belarusian company, OSVOD.
In its newly published statement, the club confirmed that Odenigbo’s funeral is “now being resolved,” and promised to publish more information as it arrives.
The club also encouraged fans to pay tribute to the late footballer at FC Vitebsk’s stadium, at the “central entrance to administration” where a small shrine has been set up which comprises a framed photograph of the deceased, some flowers, and the Number 2 jersey of the late footballer.
Odenigbo made the move to Europe this year’s March, signing for Vitebsk on loan from NAF Rockets FC of the Nigerian National League, where he’d played for four years.
Since the 2021 football season, Odenigbo has played in 4 major league games for the Belarusian top-flight club and has recorded an assist. (Punch)
