Peter Whittingham, former soccer star, dead at 35 after bar fall

Cardiff City legend Peter Whittingham passed away after a freak accident on March 7 in which he fell down a flight of stairs at a bar in Wales.

Whittingham was rushed to the University Hospital of Wales, where he stayed for more than a week, but was left with fatal head injuries. He was 35. The English soccer star is survived by his wife Amanda, who is expecting their second child.

South Wales Police released a statement Wednesday, according to The Sun, with the known details of the accident.

“At around 10pm on March 7, South Wales Police were called to a licensed premises in Barry,” the statement read. “A 35-year-old man from Penarth suffered a head injury as a result of a fall and remains at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

“At this stage there is no evidence or suggestion of a criminal act, and it appears the injury was caused by an accidental fall. Inquiries are continuing into the circumstances of the incident.”

The death of Whittingham, who scored 98 goals in 459 games for Cardiff, prompted an outpouring of grief from those in the soccer community. Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was Whittingham’s former boss at Cardiff, spoke about his experience with Whittingham.

“I thoroughly enjoyed working with him during my time at Cardiff City,” he said. “It’s hard to believe that he has been taken from us at such a young age. Peter will be deeply missed and our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time.”

The Warwickshire native, who represented England’s Under-21 team 17 times, was one of the most consistent players from 2007 to 2017. He was named to the Championship Team of the Year on three separate occasions and won Cardiff’s Player of the Season twice.

“It is with an immeasurable amount of sorrow that we must inform supporters that Peter Whittingham has passed away at the age of 35. We are heartbroken,” the Bluebirds wrote in a statement. “The news of Peter’s sudden and untimely passing has shaken us to our very foundation. Our love goes out to his wife Amanda, their young son and family.

“They are at the forefront of our thoughts and, on their behalf, we ask for their privacy to be respected at this unfathomably cruel and difficult time.”