The power of community within Italian football was on show for all the world to see on Sunday evening as it rallied around Edoardo Bove after the Fiorentina midfielder collapsed during the match against Inter Milan.
In distressing scenes, the 22-year-old appeared to bend down to take off his boot during a break in play at the Stadio Artemio Franchi as VAR checked on a disallowed goal 10 minutes into the first half, before losing consciousness.
Fiorentina and Inter players immediately called for medical personnel to attend to Bove, who joined La Viola in the summer on loan from Roma, before his teammates formed a circle around him.
The midfielder was taken away in an ambulance to the Careggi hospital in Florence, where he was sedated and placed in intensive care.
“ACF Fiorentina and the Careggi university hospital have announced that footballer Edoardo Bove, who was treated on the pitch following a loss of consciousness during the Fiorentina vs Inter Milan match, is currently under sedation and is hospitalised in intensive care,” the Serie A club said in a statement on Sunday.
“The Viola player arrived at the emergency department in stable haemodynamic conditions and initial cardiological and neurological tests have ruled out acute damage to the central nervous system and the cardiorespiratory system. Bove will be re-evaluated in the next 24 hours.”
According to Sky Sport Italia, Bove was breathing on his own and had regained consciousness on the way to the hospital, while La Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Monday the player’s conditions had improved overnight.
On Monday afternoon there was confirmation from Fiorentina that the player was “awake” and “alert”.
“He has spoken with his family, club management, the coach and his team-mates, who all rushed to go and see him as soon as they heard the good news,” a statement added.
“Further tests will be carried out in the coming days to establish what led to the critical situation that took place.”
Fiorentina led an outpour of tributes for the young midfielder.
“Forza Edoardo, we’re with you. You’re a strong boy with a great character,” said Rocco Commisso, Fiorentina’s club president.
“We’re reaching out to the boy’s family during these moments.”
In a later statement, the club said: “Fiorentina and the Commisso family thank Viola fans, the clubs, fans and the world of football and sport for the support shown towards Edoardo Bove and his loved ones.”
In a message on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, Roma added: “One of us, we are all with you. Forza Edo!”
The message was echoed across Serie A, where clubs wished Bove a speedy recovery on social media.
“We’re all with you Edoardo,” posted AC Milan and Juventus, with Napoli, Hellas Verona, Atalanta and several other clubs sharing a message along the same lines.
A message on Serie A’s official X account, meanwhile, read: “Forza Edoardo. We’re all with you.”
Bove’s teammate David De Gea summed up the feelings of Fiorentina players as he posted “God please” followed by a prayer hands emoji.
Meanwhile, Inter chairman Giuseppe Marotta said the Nerazzurri were fully supportive of referee Daniele Doveri’s decision to order the players off the pitch and postpone the match after Bove collapsed.
“Inter and the entire football world express their closeness to Bove’s family and Fiorentina,” he told Sky Sports Italia.
“Football is a community, so naturally when these situations happen, all the players and the referee worked together to help and it was a spontaneous decision to abandon the game.
“We are a community, all the players and even the referee were emotionally involved. We hope it is nothing serious.”
