Astori’s death cancels Italian games
Fiorentina captain Davide Astori was found dead in his hotel room yesterday at the age of 31 after a suspected cardiac arrest before an Italian league match.
The defender, who has also played 14 times for Italy’s national team, was discovered by Fiorentina staff when he failed to show up for breakfast at the hotel in Udine. Fiorentina’s game at Udinese in northeast Italy 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,” Udine prosecutor Antonio De Nicolo said.
Fiorentina said Astori, who had played for the club since 2015, was “hit by a sudden illness”. He leaves behind his wife, Francesca Fioretti, and their 2-year-old daughter.
In Florence, fans attached scarves, flowers and messages to the gates of the team’s stadium, while banners paying tribute to him were put up outside several other stadiums.
The English Football Association said it plans to honour Astori when it hosts Italy at Wembley on March 27 in a friendly.
Genoa and Cagliari were preparing to play in Serie A’s early game when the players were told of Astori’s death. Several — many of whom had played with Astori for Italy — walked off in tears and, when the match was officially called off, a picture of Astori was shown on the giant screen, leading to applause throughout the stadium.
Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon, a former Italy goalkeeper, posted a picture of himself with Astori on Instagram. “Ciao dear Asto,” Buffon wrote. Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, who coached Italy from 2014 to 2016, struggled to hold back the tears as he reacted to the death..
Astori made his Italy debut in 2011 and spent six years at Cagliari before loan spells at Roma and Fiorentina, where he was signed on a permanent basis in 2016. — AP