A Liverpool fan was electrocuted by a 'faulty' floodlight while retrieving a football, an inquest has ruled.
Albert Xhediku, 34, had climbed over the fence to fetch the ball after it had gone out of play at the Mountbatten Leisure Centre in Portsmouth in 2016.
But on the way back, his inquest was told, Mr Xhediku, a supporter of Liverpool FC and FC Barcelona, touched a floodlight lamppost and received a fatal shock.
A jury found that no action was taken to repair the floodlight at a five-a-side football pitch despite the problem being raised twice in the previous two months.
The inquest jury found that Mr Xhediku's death had been the result of an accident and said that the "electrocution was due to faults within the floodlight and its earth connection".
The jurors also found that "other faults had been identified with the floodlight/control box in November 2015" and a "member of the public had reported receiving an electrical shock from the same floodlight in December 2015".
Off-duty police officer Simon Tam told the hearing that he received a "nasty electric shock" from the floodlight on December 2015, which left him feeling unwell for several weeks.
The jurors stated that "although electrical testing was under way elsewhere on site, the floodlight was not inspected, isolated or tested by an electrical contractor and remained in use following both occasions".
Describing the incident, the jurors stated: "On 17th January 2016, Mr Xhediku had been playing football in the evening on the all-weather pitch at Mountbatten Leisure Centre, Portsmouth, when he climbed a fence to retrieve a football and at the same time came into contact with the adjacent floodlight mast.
"He was fatally electrocuted due to faults in the wiring of the floodlights and its supply and was later that evening declared deceased at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham."
Coroner Lincoln Brookes told the seven-day hearing: "Albert was electrocuted whilst playing five-a-side football with his friends at Mountbatten Leisure Centre.
"The ball went out of the pitch. It was his turn to fetch the ball.
"On his return it seems he touched a floodlight and its lamppost, and in doing so he received a fatal shock from that floodlight, and despite the best efforts of his friends and indeed emergency services he was confirmed dead at Queen Alexandra Hospital later that evening."
Mr Brookes also told the inquest that the lighting control box was "seemingly in a poor state of affairs" in November 2015.
The inquest has heard that repairs have since been carried out at the centre which was run at the time by Parkwood Community Leisure on behalf of Portsmouth City Council but which is now under new management.
Mr Xhediku's family said in a statement: "Albert was a guy who did everything with all his heart.
"Even when he was just playing football with his friends, he played like it was the championships.
"He was our big brother and a loving son."
A spokesman for Parkwood Community Leisure said: "We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Albert Xhediku's family and friends at this extremely difficult time.
"As a company we have always taken health and safety extremely seriously and we are fully committed to delivering high standards and a quality public service at all our centres.
"Since the incident, we have worked with the relevant authorities to establish what happened and prevent the recurrence of a similar incident in the future."
