Former rugby league player found dead in Italian hotel
TRIBUTES were paid to a former rugby league player yesterday after he was found dead inside an upmarket hotel in Florence.
Italian media reported Ricky Bibey, 40, died in a room of the Hotel Continentale in Florence on Saturday morning. A 43-year-old woman was also admitted to hospital with serious injuries but is reportedly stable.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said that they had been “in touch with the Italian police following the death of a British man in Florence”.
It is understood that local police and forensic teams have been carrying out investigations to establish the circumstances that led to Bibey’s death.
But according to Florence newspaper La Nazione, a police source suggested Mr Bibey – who had played for Wigan Warriors, with whom he won the 2002 Challenge Cup, and St Helens – may have died following an “erotic game”.
The news prompted an outpouring of grief and tributes for a player who was forced to retire 10 years ago due to an achilles tendon injury.
Ste Maden, Leigh’s player welfare manager and a former team-mate, said that Bibey “feared no-one on a rugby pitch and always did the hard yards” adding: “That’s what made him such a popular player with his team-mates, because he had everyone’s back, and he left it all on the pitch”.
Eorl Crabtree, who played previously for England Huddersfield Giants, expressed his sadness and said that “rugby league is a tough game but life is often far more brutal”, adding the words “RIP Warrior”.
Wigan Warriors tweeted: “Wigan Warriors are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former prop forward, Ricky Bibey. We send our condolences to Ricky’s family and friends at this sad time.”
Ryan Brierley, another former Leigh teammate recalled how Bibey had “looked after me in them early years… always put his arm around me”.
“Rest easy big man,” he added.