Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 6y

Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi given permission to continue Davide Astori tribute

Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi has been given permission to continue wearing an armband in remembrance of the late Davide Astori after a request by the Serie A club was accepted.

The Lega Serie A ordered the captains of all 20 Serie A clubs to wear the same armband produced by them this season.

Roma captain Daniele De Rossi and Atalanta's Alejandru Gomez were, together with Biraghi, among those who chose not to adhere to the new rules and continued wearing their own armbands over the first few weeks of the season.

The Lega Serie A decided at an assembly on Wednesday to permit Fiorentina's captain to continue wearing the armband in remembrance of Astori, who passed away in March, although that will be an exception with all other clubs facing fines if their captains continue to wear their own armbands.

"The president, after having underlined that this regulation was decided upon by the clubs in 2017 and successively approved to come in force from the current season, has authorised by means of special dispensation to Fiorentina, the use of the commemorative armband for Davide Astori, given the exceptional nature of the case and as requested by the club," read a statement on the Lega Serie A's website.

Fiorentina welcomed the decision with a tweet saying "Sempre con noi" ("always with us").

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