Iraqi football great dies with Covid-19

Ahmed Radhi, one of Iraq’s most celebrated footballers, has died with Covid-19 at the age of 56, plunging sport fans across the country into mourning.

Radhi died at a hospital in the capital, Baghdad, on Sunday after testing positive for coronavirus last week, reports BBC.

The striker scored 62 goals in 121 appearances for the Iraqi national team between 1982 and 1997.

He became a national hero after scoring Iraq's first and only ever World Cup goal during the country's 2-1 defeat to Belgium at the tournament in Mexico, 1986.

Radhi had a successful career in Iraq, winning trophies with several teams and being voted Asian player of the year in 1988.

"With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn our lifelong companion, our fans' ardent star, the unrivalled athlete and son of Iraq, Ahmed Radhi," Iraq's sports minister Adnan Darjal said.

Iraq is struggling to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases. A further 88 deaths were reported on Saturday, the highest figure since the start of the outbreak, taking the total to more than 1,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the disease globally.

Over 29,000 cases have been confirmed so far.