An Italian court on Monday handed a doctor a one-year suspended sentence for manslaughter over the 2018 death of Italy defender Davide Astori from a heart attack, media reported.
The then-Fiorentina captain was only 31 when he died in his sleep in a hotel room ahead of a match against Udinese.
Giorgio Galanti, then medical director of the sports medicine department at Careggi University Hospital in Florence, had cleared Astori to play football seven months earlier.
Prosecutors claimed he should have conducted more in-depth examinations based on the findings of a cardiac stress test.
As well as his suspended sentence, the doctor was ordered to pay a fine of one million euros ($1.2 million) to Astori’s family, reports said.
Galanti’s lawyer immediately announced they would appeal the verdict.
According to the autopsy report, Astori died as a result of tachyarrhythmia, an irregular rapid acceleration of the heartbeat.
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.
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