Spanish native Fernando LaFuente said he had no role in the faking of his death by his former club Ballybrack FC of the Leinster Senior League.

And he confirmed that members of the club had contacted him last night to offer an apology. 

The south Dublin club's weekend fixture in Arklow was postponed after they notified the league authorities that La Fuente, one of their players until recently, had died in a car accident on Thursday evening. 

A minute silence was held in his honour at Leinster Senior League fixtures over the weekend. The League itself passed on their condolences to his family and friends in the Herald on Monday. 

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It subsequently transpired that LaFuente was not dead. It was initially understood that he had returned to Spain but now it emerges that he was living in Galway, having relocated there for work two months ago. 

LaFuente this morning told Today with Sean O'Rourke on RTÉ Radio One that he was aware the club were planning some ruse but he did not know they were going to announce his death. 

He said he learned of the story when his new work colleagues started sending him news reports yesterday evening. 

"I was aware there was going to be some story on me but I thought it was going to be me breaking a leg or something like that," he said. 

"I was home yesterday after my work finished. I was playing some video games. They told me, 'you're a celebrity.'

"They started sending me all these news articles and mass media. And that's how I found out I was dead."

LaFuente said the club, with whom he still has a good relationship, had contacted him last week to warn him he might hear reports that he was involved in an accident, though he didn't know the precise nature of what was being planned. 

While he acknowledged the seriousness of the incident from the club's point of view, he admitted that he personally found it funny. 

"I was taken out (of the whatsapp) on Saturday. I knew something was going on and they called me and said 'Okay Fernando, you might see the League post something on Twitter saying you had an accident.' But I thought it was going to be a broken leg type accident. 

"I have a really good relationship with them. It was just to let me know. 

"As soon as I heard the news, I wrote to them. They got straight back to me and told me what was going on and they apologised.

"It's serious on their part but I'm finding it a little bit funny. Because basically, I'm not dead. And no one was harmed here." 

"My wife had some Facebook fuss but she already knew everything. I had to call my mum straight away and she basically didn't know anything. She saw this morning my photo on all the newspapers. I haven't spoken with her yet because she didn't answer any of the messages I sent."

LaFuente is almost a year living in Ireland and played for Ballybrack from January until he left the capital for Galway at the end of September. 

The software company he works for, Glofox, confirmed in a statement this morning that he had transferred from Dublin to Galway two months ago. 

"I'm in Galway. I was playing for Ballybrack and I had to leave because my workplace relocated me from Dublin to Galway. 

"I'm getting why they (Ballybrack FC) used my name because I wasn't there anymore. 

"I came to Ireland last December. I contacted the club in January and I've played for them since then. I played half of last year's season, and the first half of this season. 

"It was okay because it was a broken leg (I thought). I didn't care because I wasn't there anymore. If I wasn't getting in any kind of trouble, why should I care? Whatever. These little lies, everyone tells once in a while. 

"Yeah, that's a bit sad. A man in his 20s, with his whole life in front of him, dying in a car accident. I don't know how I feel about that. It's funny for me because I've been watching my own death."

As for the club's motives, the Spaniard said they are often short of numbers due to players' work commitments. 

"I don't think they were afraid (of playing Arklow). I think they had a rough time getting players. They don't play football professionally. Most of them have regular jobs and some of them work in the UK. I think that was the issue. It was nothing major."