By Pascal Ibe

Claim

A Facebook page, LAPAI TV posted a video clip of an Arsenal fan who hanged himself and claimed that the incident occurred after the club’s recent UEFA Champions League (UCL) final defeat.

Verdict

This claim is MISLEADING. Findings have shown that the incident occurred in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital in 2009 and is NOT recent.

Full Text

The 2025/2026 season is regarded as the best season for Arsenal Football Club after winning the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.

It does not end there; the club, which has continued to position itself as one of the best teams in the world at the moment, was very close to winning three trophies this season but lost two finals — the Carabao Cup to Manchester City and the UCL final to Paris Saint-Germain.

The last time the club featured in the UCL final was in 2006, and then it lost to Barcelona.

UCL final has come and gone, but the pain, the disappointment and the heartbreak it brought to Arsenal fans remain unbearable and unimaginable.

A Facebook page, LAPAI TV, based in Niger State,  northern Nigeria, posted a few days ago,  the video clip of an Arsenal fan who hanged himself and claimed that the incident occurred after Arsenal’s recent Champions League final defeat.

The caption to the clip reads: Alleged Arsenal Fan Reportedly Dies by Suicide Following Champions League Final Defeat

Reports have emerged claiming that an unidentified man believed to be an Arsenal supporter has allegedly died by suicide shortly after the UEFA Champions League final in which Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defeated Arsenal.

FACTWATCH Nigeria observed that either the video or a screenshot from the video has been circulated on many other social media platforms.

Verification

However, this FACT Checker took the screenshot from the video, subjected it to Google Lens, and the results showed that the particular incident occurred in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2009.

Reuters, an international news agency, reported in May 2009, that the Arsenal fan in soccer-mad Kenya hanged himself wearing his beloved team’s shirt after their defeat to Manchester United in the Champions League.

Suleiman Omondi, 29, was found hanged at his home in a middle-class Nairobi estate shortly after leaving distraught from the pub where he had watched Arsenal lose 3-1 in their Champions League semi-final at the Emirates.

He took some drinks and broke down in tears within the final minutes of the match,” a fellow bar patron, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

Police said they were called to Omondi’s house on Wednesday morning. “What we are gathering is that this suicide is related to the Arsenal and Manchester match,” local Embakasi area police chief David Bunei told reporters.

Bar attendants said they had to intervene after Omondi lunged at a man who suggested Arsenal would not recover from conceding two early goals. They also lost the first leg 1-0.

Check out this similar report here and here.

While the story became a heavily circulated piece of sports trivia, the video or imagery purporting to show the event was not added as a Feature Image by the news organisations, as it violates graphic safety policies. 

At that time, major news platforms and verified sources did not host or promote videos of the actual suicide.

Conclusion

A 2009 suicide incident was recycled after Arsenal’s defeat in the recent Champions League final.