Jody Lukoki, a former Ajax and Twente-Enschede footballer, died abruptly on Monday at the age of 29. Police are investigating a suspected attack. According to the Parool newspaper, the Netherlands-Congo winger was allegedly attacked at a house party in Almere over the weekend.
On Sunday, he went to the hospital with a headache and knee pain. Doctors reportedly chose to amputate his highly diseased leg, but he lapsed into a coma during the procedure and died at 6 a.m. on Monday.In relation with Lukoki’s death, police in the Midden-Nederland area claimed they were investigating a “incident” in Flevoland. They also confirmed that an official criminal report had been received, which is essential to begin an investigation. According to Het Parool, the footballer also suffered from hypoxia, which could be linked to the use of nitrous oxide or nitrous oxide.
Many specifics, including the location of the party and the alleged attack, remained unknown, according to police, who also stressed that the player’s cause of death had not yet been determined. Menno Groenveld, an Ajax academy agent, told The Telegraph that his family was “shocked and terribly grieved” by his passing. Lukocchi came through the Ajax development system and made 35 first-team appearances before being loaned out to Camber Leeuwarden in the 2013/14 season.
He travelled to PEC Zwolle, Bulgarian team Ludogorets, and Turkish club Yeni Malatyaspor in the start of his nomadic career. After suffering a significant knee injury in training a week after signing with FC Twente in July, he returned to the Netherlands in 2021 but never appeared for the club.
After being found guilty of abusing his partner and receiving an 80-hour community sentence, he was freed from his contract in February. Lukoki has played for the Democratic Republic of Congo three times and the Netherlands youth team 20 times.