Two Italian doctors probed over footballer Astori’s death

MILAN: Two doctors who issued medical certificates declaring former Ita ly i nternat ional footballer Davide Astori fit to play despite evidence he suffered from a heart condition prior to his death are under investigation for negligent homicide, the public prosecutor’s office in Florence confirmed on Monday.

Fiorentina captain Astori was found dead in his hotel room in the northeastern city of Udine on March 4 this year ahead of a Serie A match against Udinese.

An ini t ial post mor tem suggested the 31-year- old died from bradyarrhythmia – when the heart slows so much it stops – but the causes are unclear.

The doctors, who signed the fitness certificates which gave Astori the all- clear to play, work for public bodies in Florence and Cagliari, where the defender played for eight years.

The announcement of the inves t igat ion comes a f ter Flor enc e - ba s e d d a i ly L a Nazione published details of two electrocardiogram tests carried out on the player in July 2016 and July 2017.

Both r epor tedly showed anomalies, in particular the latter, which allegedly demonstrated that the player suffered from a ventricular extrasystole, or irregular heartbeats. — AFP