Paris (AFP)
Former third line Ibrahim Diarra, champion of France with Castres in 2013, died at the age of 36 from a heart attack, we learned Wednesday from sources close to the player.
Friday, Castres Olympique had announced that the French international of Senegalese origin was hospitalized in Paris, at the Georges-Pompidou hospital, in "a critical state".
After a cardiac alert, Diarra suffered a stroke at home, then he was operated on at the Georges-Pompidou hospital.
Relatives of the player told AFP that he then had several strokes which had caused brain damage so irreversible that treatment was under consideration.
Diarra, nicknamed + Ibou +, was crowned champion of France in 2013 with Castres where he played from 2009 to 2016.
He had once worn the Blues' jersey in 2008, against Italy, during a meeting of the Six Nations Tournament. Revealed in Montauban (2005-2009), he ended his career with two almost white seasons in Pau (2016-2017), then Lavaur (2017-2018).
In total, Ibrahim Diarra has played some 180 Top 14 matches, the vast majority with Castres.
Racing 92 rugby director Laurent Travers, who remained close to Diarra whom he had trained in Montauban and then Castres, praised the "joie de vivre" of his former player.
"He brought laughter, sunshine. And he gave everything on the ground," said Travers, contacted by AFP.
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