Former Serie A referee Giuseppe Rosica has been diagnosed with ALS, the first official to have the condition after many players.
The motor neurone disease, full name Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gherig’s Disease, breaks down the control of muscle and makes it difficult to speak, swallow and eventually breathe.
It is found far more commonly in former athletes than in other walks of life, including ex-Fiorentina striker Stefano Borgonovo and Genoa captain Gianluca Signorini.
This is the first case of ALS in a former Serie A referee.
Former Serie A referee Giuseppe Rosica has been diagnosed with ALS, the first official to have the condition after many players.
The motor neurone disease, full name Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gherig’s Disease, breaks down the control of muscle and makes it difficult to speak, swallow and eventually breathe.
It is found far more commonly in former athletes than in other walks of life, including ex-Fiorentina striker Stefano Borgonovo and Genoa captain Gianluca Signorini.
This is the first case of ALS in a former Serie A referee.
Rosica officiated in the Italian top flight from 1990 to 1996, was diagnosed with the condition in 2017 and is now 61 years old.
“It progressed so quickly and for the last year I have been forced to breathe and eat artificially, while I cannot communicate unless through a tablet activated by eye movements,” he told news agency Ansa.
“I want this terrible illness, which leaves us paralysed in everything except for the awareness of what is going on around us, to be studied with more resources.
“My message is for people not to miss the opportunities that life gives us, not to move our decisions or expectations to tomorrow.
“I have no future now, but I can say that I lived my life with my choices, such as following my passion for refereeing.”