Serie A clash postponed less than an hour before kick-off as Fiorentina chief rushed to hospital

THE Serie A clash between Atalanta and Fiorentina has been postponed after a club chief was rushed to hospital.

Fiorentina director Joe Barone fell ill earlier today and was rushed to hospital.

Rex

Joe Barone was rushed to hospital earlier today[/caption]

A statement from Fiorentina said: “We inform you that the ATALANTA-FIORENTINA match, scheduled for today, 17 March 2024 starting at 6.00pm, and valid for the 29th day of the Serie A TIM Championship, has been postponed to a later date.”

The game was due to kick-off at 5pm GMT at the Gewiss Stadium.

However, at 4.13pm Serie A released a statement confirming the game had been called off.

Sky Sport Italia report that some of the players were with Barone when he was taken ill and were too worried about him to concentrate on the match.

Barone’s 58th birthday is on Wednesday.

He has been a director at Viola since November 2019.

Barone was born in Italy but raised in the United States.

The incident comes almost two weeks after the anniversary for the tragic death of former club captain Davide Astori.

Astori died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 31 on March 4, 2018 while sleeping before Fiorentina’s match against Udinese.

Atalanta currently sit 6th in the Serie A table, while Fiorentina are in 9th.