Italian soccer referee Daniele De Santis and his model partner, Eleonora Manta, were murdered in a gruesome manner as they were stabbed to death in his apartment in Lecce.
The incident caused a shock throughout Italy, especially in the sports and football milieu, and the match officials stood with the teams for a minute of silence for the death of their colleague.
Il Presidente della @FIGC, su richiesta del Presidente dell '# AIA, ha disposto l'effettuazione di un minuto di raccoglimento in memoria di Daniele De Santis.
Gli #arbitri scenderanno in campo con il lutto al braccio.
Leggi la news: https://t.co/ct5WntcvMt pic.twitter.com/Sw6kb3BTN1
- AIA (@AIA_it) September 23, 2020
Un minuto di silenzio in memoria dell'arbitro Daniele De Santis. # Monopolimodena #coppaitalia pic.twitter.com/zbJmjdJbmi
- SS Monopoli 1966 (@MonopoliCalcio) September 23, 2020
Italian press reports stated that the identity of the perpetrator and his motives are unclear, but some witnesses heard Manta shouting the name of the killer, apparently, as he was seen running in the street with the knife, which may lead the police to the identity of the killer.
Asesinados a puñadas Daniele De Santis y su prometida, la modelo Eleonora Manta https://t.co/ccVQTwlXq a través de @columna_cer
- Juan Carlos Rubio (@_jcarlosrubio) September 23, 2020
The Italian Federation of Rulers issued an official statement describing De Santis, 33, as "a brave and humble man, and a promising referee."
De Santes was scheduled to run the Coppa Italia match on Thursday between Monopoli and Modena.
Referee Daniele de Santis (33 years old) dies after he was found stabbed to death with a woman in Lecce.
His last match was between Ternana and Catania. # SerieC pic.twitter.com/Xz2r85JBBk
- HVFC 1903 (@VeronaArb) September 22, 2020