Lecce pay tribute to beloved physio ahead of big Napoli match

There is a strange atmosphere ahead of Lecce’s match against Napoli, with no music played during the warm-ups, and multiple tributes to physio Graziano Fiorita.

It kicks off at the Stadio Via del Mare at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT, 18.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from all today’s four Serie A games on the Liveblog.

This is the first home match since Lecce’s beloved long-term physio Fiorita died on April 24 of a suspected heart attack in the team hotel in Bergamo.

The club staged an angry protest against the Lega Serie A for forcing them to play against Atalanta just three days after the tragedy, so they wore all-white kits with a message stating they would not wear their red and yellow colours for a game where their values were being “trampled” by the crass scheduling decision.

Lecce focus is on honouring Fiorita

Now that they are back home, there is a surreal atmosphere ahead of their match with Napoli, because unlike most football games, there is no music in the stadium.

The warm-ups were performed amid total silence other than the occasional applause from the crowd.

Lecce players were all wearing shirts with ‘Graziano’ on them and there were numerous banners in the stands paying tribute to the man who worked for his hometown club for over 25 years.

There will be a minute’s silence before kick-off for Fiorita at the Stadio Via del Mare, as well as wearing black armbands.

Baschirotto on what Fiorita meant to squad

“There are no words to describe the moments we experienced,” Lecce captain Federico Baschirotto told DAZN.

“It’s sad because we lost a brother, someone who gave his soul to help us. We are close to the Fiorita family. Now we have four final games to play.

“His smile and the love that he gave is what stays with us, he hugged us all before every match. We will miss him so much. We’ll give our all today, for us and for Graziano.”