MILAN (AP) — Fiorentina paid tribute to owner Rocco Commisso with special shirts and a heartwarming goal celebration in an emotional 2-1 win at Bologna in Serie A on Sunday.
It was announced early Saturday that Commisso, who purchased Fiorentina in 2019, had died. But his family wanted the team to play as scheduled in his honor.
Fiorentina warmed up wearing shirts with Commisso’s photo as well as the words “1 Rocco” on the back, and “Grazie Rocco” on the front.
There was a minute’s silence before kickoff — as in all the Serie A matches this weekend — and the players were also wearing black armbands, while the away fans displayed banners in tribute to Commisso.
Rolando Mandragora celebrated scoring the opening goal in the 19th minute by running to the touchline and picking up a special Fiorentina jersey with “Rocco” on it. He was later seen wearing that shirt in the post-match celebrations.
Roberto Piccoli doubled Fiorentina’s goal on the stroke of halftime. It was initially ruled out for offside but awarded on video review.
Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano, who coached Fiorentina to three finals before leaving in 2024, was visibly irate with his team — hurling his hat to the ground — and made four changes at halftime.
One of those substitutes, Giovanni Fabbian, headed in a late consolation.
Relegation-threatened Fiorentina moved level on points with Lecce, which occupies the last place of safety and was playing at second-placed AC Milan later.
Bologna slid down the table to eighth after one win in 10 Serie A matches.
Earlier Sunday, Parma drew 0-0 with Genoa in a relegation battle.
Genoa is three points above the drop zone and three below Parma.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Mike Caggiano said:
Bravo Mjones, well said
Mike Caggiano said:
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