Papiss Cisse 'traumatised' by Josef Sural's death

Papiss Cisse is still “haunted” by Josef Sural’s death.

The Senegalese former footballer was one of six Alanyasor players travelling in a minibus in January 2019 when it crashed and his teammate was thrown from the vehicle, later dying from his injuries.

And Papiss will never forget finding his friend in the road.

He told FourFourTwo magazine: “We had a game against Kayserispor and then three days off.

“Some players were flying to other cities, but a number of us took a minibus…

“It was a long seven-hour drive back to Alanya and we were almost there when the driver lost control.

“The door opened and Sural was thrown out. Oh my god.

“When we couldn’t see him, myself and Steven Caulker ran to find him. We saw everything before the ambulance came. The image still haunts me.”

Tragically, Josef hadn’t initially planned to travel on the bus.

Papiss noted: “Sural wasn’t supposed to come – he joined at the last minute.”

Despite the tragedy, the former Newcastle United forward enjoyed his time with the Turkish side.

He said: “I found a good life in Alanya, the sea, the beach, sunshine, nice food and a perfect country for my religion.

“But it was a small city and a small club.

“I had to fight and score lots of goals to help the club to grow.

“I scored 16 goals in my first season and 22 in my second.

“Steven Caulker was a big help there. We had two great years together.

“The club didn’t have much money, but it felt like family.”