The club doctor of Stade de Reims FC, Bernard Gonzalez, has committed suicide.

French outlet Le Parisien reports that Gonzalez took his own life on Sunday afternoon shortly after being told he had contracted Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Gonzalez, 60, is said to have been in quarantine with his wife, who also had the disease.

Reacting to the development, Stade de Reims’ President, Jean-Pierre Caillot, in a statement, described Gonzalez as a great professional of the sport.

Caillot said: “Words fail me. I am stunned by this news.

“This pandemic affects the Stade de Reims in its heart. He was a personality of Reims and a great professional in the sport.

“He was with the club for more than 20 years and carried out his job with the utmost professionalism, in a passionate and even selfless manner.

“Doctor Gonzalez, in the harshest periods of the club, worked on a voluntary basis. He is a precise doctor in his missions and an artist by his passions.

“Today all my thoughts, those of the club, of which he will remain a strong figure, go to his wife and parents.

“Today, it’s a drama that strikes us.