Fiorentina Captain Davide Astori Dies at 31

Fiorentina captain Davide Astori has died, the club has announced. He was 31.

Getty Images

UDINE, Italy (AP) Fiorentina captain Davide Astori has died, the club has announced. He was 31.

Astori was found in the early hours of Sunday morning in his hotel room in Udine, where the team was staying ahead of an Italian league match.

Fiorentina has released a brief statement saying it is ''profoundly shaken.''

It adds: ''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 just become a father two weeks ago.

Having represented Italy at U-18 level, Astori won 14 caps for Italy. He made his debut in March 2011 in a 2-0 victory over Ukraine and scored his only international goal in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup third-place play-off against Uruguay. 

La Fiorentina profondamente sconvolta si trova costretta a comunicare che e' scomparso il suo capitano Davide Astori, colto da improvviso malore.
Per la terribile e delicata situazione,  e soprattutto per rispetto della sua famiglia si fa appello alla sensibilità di tutti. pic.twitter.com/bFGnkReWEC

— ACF Fiorentina (@acffiorentina) March 4, 2018

Fiorentina's match against Udinese has been called off as has Genoa vs. Cagliari, which was scheduled to kick off shortly after the news emerged. Following the tragic loss, the remainder Sunday fixtures are also postponed.