Sports world mourns soccer-loving Pope Francis with games in Italy and Argentina postponed

Argentine soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona, left, greets Pope Francis in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Monday, Sept. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

ROME — Top-flight soccer matches in Italy and Argentina were postponed after the death of Pope Francis on Monday.

The Buenos Aires club that the Argentine pontiff supported throughout his life was also mourning its most famous fan.

The wider soccer and sports world paid homage after Francis died at 88.

All sports events scheduled for Easter Monday in Italy were postponed, including four Serie A games: Torino vs. Udinese, Cagliari vs. Fiorentina, Genoa vs. Lazio and Parma vs. Juventus. The games will now be played on Wednesday.

Likewise, three top-flight games in Argentina were postponed from Monday to Tuesday: Tigre vs. Belgrano, Argentinos Juniors vs. Barracas Central and Independiente Rivadavia vs. Aldosivi. The games will be preceded by a minute of silence to mourn Francis, who was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires before being elected pope.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he was “deeply saddened” over the pope’s death.

“I was privileged enough to spend some time with him on a couple of occasions, and he always shared his enthusiasm for football and stressed the important role our sport plays in society,” Infantino said on Instagram. “All the prayers of the whole football world are with him.”

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said “we are losing a great friend and supporter of the Olympic movement.” Bach added that Francis’ “support for the peace and solidarity mission of the Olympic Games and the many refugee initiatives of the IOC has been unwavering.”

Pope and San Lorenzo

Francis’ passion for soccer became known almost immediately after he was elected as the first pope from Latin America in 2013 when the Argentine club San Lorenzo tweeted a photo of him holding up the team’s crest. He was even a card-carrying member of the club, with San Lorenzo ID No. 88,235.

San Lorenzo is nicknamed “the Saints.”

“He was always one of us,” San Lorenzo said in tribute on Instagram, remembering how Francis watched its 1946 championship team as a boy.

San Lorenzo performed well after Francis was elected as the 266th pope in March 2013. The team won a national title in 2013 and claimed the Copa Libertadores for the first time a year later. Club officials traveled twice to the Vatican carrying trophies to thank Francis for his support.

A planned new San Lorenzo stadium is to be named for Francis.

In Italy, there were also suggestions that Francis supported Juventus since his family came from the Piedmont region where the Turin club is based. Francis’ father, Mario Bergoglio, was a basketball player.

Pope and Maradona

Francis met countryman Diego Maradona twice as pope. There was a special audience in connection with a charity soccer match in 2014 when Maradona presented the pontiff with a soccer jersey, emblazoned with the name “Francisco” -- Spanish for Francis -- and Maradona’s No. 10.

“We all now realize he’s a (star),” Maradona said after another meeting in 2015. “I’m Francis’ top fan.”

When Maradona died in 2020, Francis remembered the soccer great in his prayers.

“A different, approachable, Argentine pope,” Lionel Messi, another Argentina soccer great, said on Instagram. “Thank you for making the world a better place. We will miss you.”

Record 15-time European soccer champion Real Madrid also mourned Francis in a message on Instagram.

During a meeting with the Argentina and Italy national teams shortly after he was elected, Francis noted the influence of athletes, especially on youth, and told the players to remember that, “for better or worse” they were role models. “Dear players, you are very popular. People follow you, and not just on the field but also off it,” he said. “That’s a social responsibility.”

Francis often hailed sports as a way to promote solidarity and inclusion, especially for young people.

At a global conference on faith and sport in 2016, Francis implored leaders to do a better job of keeping corruption off the playing field and said sports must be protected from manipulations and commercial abuse.

“Francis was a special pope, able to illuminate in his time like only the greatest can,” Gianluigi Buffon, the former Italy captain who met the pope many times, said on Instagram. “He showed us the way with great courage and moved our souls. I will carry his example forever in my heart.”

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By Andrew Dampf

AP Sports Writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed.