Warning: Euro 2012 Could Be the Death of You

“This match is killing me” is something that you hear all too often from melodramatic football fans, but for one Chinese follower of Euro 2012, it’s been all too literal. Mr. Jiang of Changsha in Hunan province passed away after watching 11 straight days of European football. The fact that there were no scoreless draws means he can’t have died of boredom; the actual cause of death might have something to do with the drinking and smoking that accompanied his viewing. Though the England- and France-supporting 26-year-old was coming home drunk most of the time, that didn’t stop him playing football with friends on June 18. However, on June 19, after watching England beat Ukraine, he looked tired. He went home, took a shower, turned on the air-con and fell asleep. He never woke.

With other fans hospitalized for extreme behavior during the Euros, we thought it only fair to warn you. The quarter-finals start tonight and we don’t want to lose any readers.

All games from now on are at 2.45am so there’s the best part of 22 hours of a day without football – even allowing for extra-time and penalties. Use some of it to get some sleep and hydrate, maybe even work flexitime. It’s not worth risking your health.

For those brave, or foolish, enough to continue to watch, here’s a full list of bars showing the games.

Photo: Gingernut-creative and Kyiv Post