Prosecutors seek 18-month sentence for doctor over death of Astori

Fans hang tributes to late Fiorentina football team captain Davide Astori while Friday prosecutors requested a doctor receive an 18-month jail term over manslaughter following player’s death. (AFP/File Photo)
Fans hang tributes to late Fiorentina football team captain Davide Astori while Friday prosecutors requested a doctor receive an 18-month jail term over manslaughter following player’s death. (AFP/File Photo)
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Updated 02 April 2021
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Prosecutors seek 18-month sentence for doctor over death of Astori

Prosecutors seek 18-month sentence for doctor over death of Astori
  • Astori died aged just 31 in 2018 following a cardiac arrest in his hotel room ahead of a match against Udinese
  • Doctor in question had cleared Astori to play football in July the previous year, seven months before his death

ROME — Prosecutors on Friday requested a doctor receive an 18-month jail term for manslaughter following the death of former Fiorentina and Italy defender Davide Astori.
Astori died aged just 31 in March 2018 following a cardiac arrest in his hotel room ahead of a match against Udinese.
The doctor in question had cleared Astori to play football in July the previous year, seven months before his death.
The prosecution claimed the doctor, then medical director of the sports medicine department at Careggi University Hospital in Florence, should have conducted more in-depth exams based on the findings of a cardiac stress test.
The doctor has “acted in the correct manner,” said his lawyer, Sigfrido Fenyes.
A verdict is expected on May 3, the ANSA and AGI news agencies reported.
According to the autopsy report, Astori died as a result of tachyarrhythmia, an irregular rapid acceleration of the heartbeat.
A second doctor had initially been under investigation before those charges were dropped.
Astori’s funeral was attended by vast crowds of fans and dozens of top footballers who came to pay respect to a player who captained his club and earned 14 caps for Italy.