Tragedy in Italian league

FIORENTINA captain Davide Astori was found dead in his hotel room yesterday after a suspected cardiac arrest before an Italian league match.

The 31-year-old defender, who played 14 times for Italy, was discovered by Fiorentina staff when he failed to show up for breakfast at the hotel in Udine. Fiorentina’s game at Udinese was called off, along with all fixtures in the country’s top two divisions. “The belief is that the player died of a cardiac arrest by natural causes,” Antonio De Nicolo said.