CNN
 — 

Moustapha Sylla, an Ivorian defender for RC Abidjan, passed away on Sunday after collapsing on the field during a league game against SOL FC, according to his team.

Sylla, 21, collapsed on the pitch away from the ball during the game at Robert Champroux Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Opposition players immediately called for medical assistance on seeing him fall to the ground.

RC Abidjan wrote on its official Twitter, “Our defender Sylla Moustapha died this evening after an illness on the pitch.

“Management sends sincere condolences to his family. Rest in peace Moustapha. Rest in peace LION.”

Logossina Cisse, RC Abidjan’s president, told AFP that Sylla died while en route to the hospital.

The team announced on its website that Sylla’s burial is set for Monday at the municipal cemetery in Dabou, Ivory Coast.