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Prosecutors open investigation into Astori death

March 5, 2018

The Fiorentina captain was found dead in his hotel room on Sunday after a suspected heart attack before his team was set to play an Italian league match at Udinese. An autopsy will take place on Tuesday.

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A banner with message "Ciao Capitano"
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Ipa/G. Pasquini

Italian public prosecutors have launched a routine criminal investigation into the death of Fiorentina captain Davide Astori, who died on Sunday at the team hotel ahead of a match at Udinese.

Udine public prosecutor Antonio De Nicolo told state broadcaster Rai in a radio interview that an autopsy would be carried out on Tuesday. But he stressed that it was a standard practice and there is no current reason to suspect any wrongdoing.

"It's our duty to discover whether this was a tragic piece of misfortune or whether someone could have detected something," he said.

Thirty-one-year-old Astori made 289 Serie A appearances and played 14 times for Italy.

'Ciao, Capitano'

On Monday, fans continued to pour in at Fiorentina's Artemio Franchi stadium to pay tributes to Astori, leaving flowers, scarves and messages such as "Ciao, Capitano."

The Serie A club said on Twitter that his funeral would take place at the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence on Thursday.

European soccer body UEFA said on Monday there would be a minute's silence before all this week's Champions League and Europa League matches.

ap/rc (Reuters, AP, AFP)

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