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.

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Joe Barone was rushed to hospital earlier todayCredit: Rex

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.

However, at 4.13pm the 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.

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Barone's 58th birthday is on Wednesday.

He has been a director at Viola since 2019.

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 on March 4, 2018 while sleeping before Fiorentina's match against Udinese.

More to follow.

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