A SOCCER player booked by a hardline referee for diving had in fact died of a heart attack.
Goran Tunjic, a 32-year-old defender playing for Croatian side Mladost, collapsed and fell to the ground after being tackled in the 35th minute of a game against local rivals Hrvatski Sokola.
The no-nonsense referee, who had warned the teams in their dressing rooms before kick-off that he would deal firmly with any play-acting, promptly strode across the pitch to the prone player and waved a yellow card at him.