EFA sent their condolences over Astori’s death

CAIRO – 04 March 2018: Hany Abo Reida, President of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), expressed his sadness after Fiorentina’s captain and defender, Davide Astori, passed away this morning.

Astori died of a sudden illness on Sunday morning at the age of 31, the Serie A club announced, leaving Italian football in a state of shock.

The EFA sent a message of condolences to the Italian Olympic Committee and the Italian Football Federation regarding Astori’s death.

The EFA said in its letter that the death of Fiorentina’s captain was a great shock, especially for the Egyptian players Mohamed Salah and Ahmed Hegazi, as they were teammates in Fiorentina.

RIP My Friend 😞 pic.twitter.com/lslqCxM9XU

— Ahmed hegazi (@Hegazi) March 4, 2018

The Serie A announced that all of Sunday's matches, including the derby between AC Milan and Inter Milan, would be postponed.

"Fiorentina is deeply upset to have to announce that its captain Davide Astori has passed away, victim of a sudden illness," said the statement.

"Due to the terrible and delicate situation, and above all for the respect of his family, an appeal is made to everyone's sensibility."

Astori joined Fiorentina on loan in August 2015 and the club signed him outright one year later. He previously spent six seasons at Cagliari and one on loan at AS Roma, according to Reuters.

He made 14 appearances for Italy between 2012 and 2017.

Here are some of the football players' reactions on Astori's death:

Real Madrid's defender, Sergio Ramos:

Conmocionado por la triste noticia del fallecimiento de Davide Astori. Un abrazo a su familia y a toda la @acffiorentina .
Descansa en paz, capitano.
Riposa in pace, capitano. pic.twitter.com/L3KQ0ymzbk

— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) March 4, 2018

AS Roma's legend, Francesco Totti:

Scioccato, incredulo e senza parole per questa tragedia. Sono vicino alla famiglia e agli amici di Davide #Astori.

— Francesco Totti (@Totti) March 4, 2018

Juventus' goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon:

What a beautiful message from Buffon on Instagram. Class act. pic.twitter.com/YA6HcHY7id

— Kristian Sturt - Transfer News (@FootieWriter) March 4, 2018

Medhi Benatia, Juventus' midfielder:

Toutes mes condoléances à la famille Astori 😔.
Quelle tristesse!!!
Repose en paix champion 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/iw6T8zto2q

— MBenatia5 (@MedhiBenatia) March 4, 2018

Paulo Dybala, Juventus' playmaker:

Senza parole. Riposa in pace Davide Astori pic.twitter.com/mukSojB45l

— Paulo Dybala (@PauDybala_JR) March 4, 2018

FC Barcelona's official account on Twitter:

Il Barcellona esprime tutto il suo cordoglio per la perdita inaspettata del vostro capitano, Davide Astori.
Siamo vicini alla Fiorentina, agli amici e a tutta la famiglia di Davide.
Che tu possa riposare in pace.
https://t.co/0s3iQ1LFG4

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 4, 2018

Fabio Cannavaro official account on Twitter:

Rest in peace Davide 🙏🏻 #rip #astori pic.twitter.com/rE02EJj1hU

— Fabio Cannavaro (@fabiocannavaro) March 4, 2018