Italy international Davide Astori has been found dead in his hotel room, his club Fiorentina announced on Sunday.
Astori, captain of Fiorentina, passed away in his sleep overnight on Saturday evening at the age of 31, the Independent reported.
“Fiorentina is profoundly shaken and forced to announce that their captain Davide Astori has died,” read a club statement. “For this terrible and delicate situation, and above all out of respect for his family, we appeal to the sensitivity of the media.”
Astori had only just become a father two weeks before his death. He, who had made 14 appearances for Italy, was found dead in his room at the La di Moret hotel in Udine ahead of Fiorentina’s game with Udinese at the Stadio Friuli, which was subsequently cancelled.
Serie A confirmed that all of the Sunday fixtures would be postponed as a mark of respect for Astori, with the game between his former side Cagliari and Genoa cancelled minutes before kickoff as the news of his tragic death filtered through.
The defender enjoyed a 12-year career in Serie A, having started his career at AC Milan before spending six years with Cagliari.
He joined Fiorentina in 2015 on loan from the Sardinians having spent the previous season at Roma before signing permanently in 2016.
