Some stories from the world of football have nothing to do with the game.
They are about violence.
About a person doing their job.
And about a country that has just lost one of its most prominent sporting voices in the most brutal of circumstances.
Italian football journalist Luigi Esposito shot and set on fire in Naples in horrifying attack
According to the Mirror, Luigi Esposito, a respected Italian sports journalist with a prominent television profile in Naples, was shot and set on fire in an attack that has shocked the country and sent the Italian media world into mourning.
Esposito, who worked for various outlets covering Italian football and was a familiar face on Neapolitan television, was attacked in circumstances that Italian authorities are now actively investigating.
The brutal nature of the attack has led investigators to explore possible organised crime connections, given the specific character of the violence and the region in which it occurred.
The attack took place in Naples.
The city has a long and complex relationship with organised crime.
And the specific methodology of the attack has led Italian law enforcement to treat the case as a priority investigation.
Colleagues and friends of Esposito responded with an outpouring of shock and grief across Italian media and social media.
With tributes noting his passion for football, his professionalism and the warmth he brought to his work covering the sport.
Press freedom organisations have also responded.
Italy has experienced several high-profile attacks on media figures in recent decades.
Each one reignites the same difficult conversation about the safety of journalists operating in regions where organised crime maintains a significant presence.
And about the culture of intimidation that makes such attacks possible.
Esposito’s death is a loss to Italian journalism.
To Italian football coverage.
And to everyone who knew him.
The investigation is ongoing.
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