Brescia defender Mero killed

Accident outside Brescia
Mero, who was ruled out of his team's scheduled Coppa Italia semi-final match at Parma AC on Wednesday afternoon, was involved in an accident on the A/4 motorway outside Brescia heading towards Venice.

Match cancelled
Brescia's players heard the news shortly before kick-off at the Ennio Tardini stadium and they immediately left for the dressing rooms, and the match was cancelled. The match will now be played on 30 January.

'A great man'
Brescia coaching assistant Enrico Nicolini said: "He was in his wife's car and on his way home. After training we all went together to eat, joking and talking also about his future, if he would go or stay at Brescia. He was a great man and you couldn't add any more than that. Parma understood our situation, that to play on would have been impossible."

Joined from Ravenna
The 27-year-old had made eight league appearances for Brescia this season. His final match for the club was against Milan AC at the San Siro on 13 January when he came on as a last-minute substitute. Mero joined Brescia from US Ravenna in 1998 and was a member of the side that won promotion to Serie A in 1999/2000.