Livorno player Morosini died during the game
All weekend football in Italy has been called off following the death of Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini, the Italian Football Federation said.
The 25-year-old collapsed on the pitch during a Serie B game at Pescara and was later pronounced dead in hospital.
The move, announced by Italian Football Federation (Figc) general manager Antonello Valentini, means there will be no Serie A action this weekend.
Morosini collapsed suddenly in the first half of the game, leading to the match being abandoned.
He was treated on the pitch before being taken away by ambulance to the Civile Santo Spirito hospital in Pescara.
He was later pronounced dead.
Morosini had been conscious when put in the ambulance but his condition was said to be serious when he arrived at hospital.
"He looked me in the eyes when he entered the vehicle," Pescara chief executive Danilo Iannascoli told Sky television.
"Morosini fell, he tried to get back up but fell again. Our masseur realised what was happening."
Iannascoli also said the ambulance was blocked from coming onto the pitch due to a vehicle parked in front of an exit.
Italian press were alerted to Morosini's death initially by an "explosion of shouts and tears" from his teammates who had come to the hospital, news agency ANSA said.
Police started to usher the press away but Edoardo De Blasio, a cardiologist at Pescara's Santo Spirito hospital, confirmed the death.
"Unfortunately he was already dead when he arrived at hospital. He didn't regain consciousness," he said.
Morosini's death comes just under a month after Bolton Wanderers' midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest during his side's FA Cup quarter-final match against Tottenham Hotspur.
The 24-year-old's heart stopped for 78 minutes as medics battled to keep him alive at the stadium and then in hospital on March 17.
But Kinshasha-born Muamba has since made incredible progress, boosting hopes that he will make a full recovery.
The incident led to calls for stringent heart checks to be made on professional footballers.
Source: smh
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