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Retiring shirt numbers is not a widely practiced trend in the world of football. But when it does happen, it happens for good reason. It is generally done by clubs to recognize a player’s loyalty towards the club, but sometimes it is a way of memorializing, after the sudden death of a player.
Retiring a jersey number was mainly practiced in North America, but after the 1990s, many football clubs have started to retire particular jersey numbers in honour of the players.
Recently, the footballing world was shocked when Argentine striker Emiliano Sala died in a plane crash while travelling from France to Britain. Sala had just completed his move from French side Nantes to Premier League club Cardiff City for a record deal.
His chartered plane lost contact with the ATC after taking off. Sala was officially declared dead on the 8th of February when the authorities found the wreckage of his jet along with his body.
French side Nantes have since decided to retire Sala's jersey number 9 from the club. Nantes is not the only club which has retired a jersey number after the death of a player.
Here are three other major incidents where the club decided to retire the jersey number in honour of the player who passed away.
#3 Marc-Vivien Foé (23, Lyon, Manchester City, and RC Lens)
Marc-Vivien Foé was part of the Cameroon squad that played in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. On 26th June 2003, Cameroon faced Colombia in the group stages of the Confederations Cup. In the 72nd minute of the match, Foé collapsed in the center circle and later died in hospital. The hospital authorities later revealed that Foe had a rare heart condition called ‘cardiomyopathy hypertrophia’.
The sudden death of the 28-year-old in the middle of the match shook the whole footballing world. French star Thierry Henry celebrated his goal by pointing up towards the sky after scoring against Egypt.
At the time of his death, Foe was playing for Manchester City, on loan from Lyon. His parent club Lyon, current club Manchester City, and childhood club Lens decided to retire his jersey number 23 permanently. Later, Cameroon International Jean Makoun wore Foe's jersey number while playing for Lyon in remembrance of his friend.
#2 Cheick Tiote (24, Beijing Enterprise Group FC)
Cheick Tiote was the hero for Newcastle when he scored the equalizing goal in the historic four all draw vs Arsenal at St James' Park. Unfortunately, in an incident that shook the world, 30-year-old collapsed while training for Beijing Enterprise Group FC.
Tiote was rushed to the nearby hospital, but it was too late as he was declared dead on his arrival. The doctors later revealed that cardiac arrest was the reason behind his sudden death.
After the incident, China's League One club the Beijing Enterprise Group FC (BG) retired the number 24 on June 24, 2017, to commemorate Cote d'Ivoire star Cheick Tiote. A retiring ceremony was held by the Beijing based club during the half time of BG's match vs Zhejiang Yiteng.
A no-nonsense midfield enforcer, Tiote was linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs during his spell at Tyneside. He made 139 appearances for Newcastle in 7 seasons.
#1 Davide Astori (#13, Fiorentina and Cagliari)
In one of the most shocking incidents last year, Fiorentina captain Davide Astori was confirmed dead after the Italian defender passed away in his sleep. Following the incident, Fiorentina and Cagliari announced that they will be retiring their No. 13 shirts in the wake of Davide Astori’s tragic death.
A statement from the Florence-based club read:
“To honour his memory and make the memory of Davide Astori indelible, Cagliari and Fiorentina have decided to jointly withdraw the shirt with the number 13.”.
His autopsy declared cardiac arrest as his cause of death. Later that year, Fiorentina also announced that they would rename their training ground 'Centro Sportivo Davide Astori' after Astori.
Davide Astori was an Italian defender who made 174 appearances for Italian club Cagliari and 91 appearances for Fiorentina before his death in 2018.
