A SPANISH FOOTBALLER who was falsely reported as dead last month said his mother made him go for a full check-up as soon as he got home to Spain for Christmas.

Ballybrack FC, his former club, had told officials that Fernando Lafuente Saiz, had been killed in a car crash.

The club was scheduled to play a match against Arklow on Saturday, but the game was called off as a mark of respect, while other teams observed a minute’s silence and wore black armbands in support of Fernando’s family.

It later emerged that Fernando was alive and well and living in Galway where he had moved in September for a job. This week he returned to his family for the first time since the false reports of his death.

He told Paddy Power that his mother marched him straight to the local medical centre for a full check-up.

“She took me first to the dentist and then to the hospital. Everything was okay. I tried to tell her I was fine, but she wanted to see it with her own eyes,” he said.

“After it, she bought me a hot water bottle to bring back with me to Ireland.”

He said his family and friends will have a big party tomorrow night.