Motherwell, December 30:

Phil O’Donnell, captain of Scottish Premier League club Motherwell, died on Saturday after collapsing during a match.

The 35-year-old midfielder fell to the ground at Fir Park just as he was about to be substituted against Dundee United.

The player was carried from the field on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, but the club later announced the death of O’Donnell, who played once for Scotland.

O’Donnell started his career at Motherwell before stints with Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday.

“This is an unspeakable tragedy for Phil’s family,” Motherwell owner John Boyle said in a statement. “Everyone at Motherwell is shocked to the core and we are sure that everyone involved in Scottish football will feel the same.”

He was treated on the field for about five minutes before Fitzpatrick came on in the 78th minute of a match that Motherwell won 5-3.

O’Donnell’s nephew David Clarkson, who had scored twice for Motherwell, was substituted a few moments later because he was upset by the incident.

Motherwell said that its medical staff and that of Dundee United believed that O’Donnell had suffered a seizure, but could not give any more detail.

“I don’t want to say anything more than how devastated everyone at the club is for his wife and his children,” Motherwell manager Mark McGhee said. “That’s what we are all feeling tonight. Nothing else matters.”

Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed and died at the 2003 Confederations Cup in France, prompting FIFA to demand a general medical checkup and thorough cardiovascular tests on all players ahead of last year’s World Cup in Germany.

Medical improvements have not stopped such incidents, though. Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta died in August following his collapse on the field during a Spanish league match, dying from a weakness of the right ventricle.

Hapoel Beersheba striker Chaswe Nsofwa died of heart failure while training in Israel the same month, and a player from lowly English side Walsall, 16-year-old Anton Reid, died after collapsing in training, also in August.