Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove in medically induced coma after collapsing in Italian soccer game

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Fiorentina midfielder Edoardo Bove is in a medically induced coma after collapsing on the field during his team’s Serie A match at home to Inter Milan on Sunday, with the game abandoned shortly afterward.

Bove's teammates immediately called for medical help and both sets of players surrounded the 22-year-old while he was being treated before he was swiftly stretchered off to an ambulance near the pitch and taken to Careggi Hospital in Florence.

“Fiorentina and the Careggi University Hospital announce that the footballer Edoardo Bove ... is currently under pharmacological sedation and hospitalized in intensive care,” Fiorentina said in a statement. "The first cardiological and neurological tests performed have ruled out acute damage to the central nervous system and the cardio-respiratory system. Edoardo Bove will be re-evaluated in the next 24 hours.”

Sky Italia reported that the player regained consciousness while he was in the ambulance and was managing to breathe on his own.

Bove’s parents and his girlfriend have arrived at the hospital along with Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino and most of his teammates, as well as club directors and the city's mayor.

Fiorentina fans have also gathered outside the hospital and displayed a banner with the words: “Forza Edoardo, Florence is with you.”

Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso echoed that sentiment and the club said he and his family are in constant contact from the United States to support Bove and his family.

“Forza Edoardo, we’re with you,” Commisso said. “You’re a strong boy with a great character.”

More messages of support flooded in on social media from players and clubs. Inter midfielder Federico Dimarco, who was on the field at the time, wrote “Forza Edo, we are all with you and your family.”

The incident happened in the 16th minute of the match, with play stopped following a VAR check. Bove apparently bent down to tie the laces on his boot before he suddenly dropped to the ground.

Fiorentina players were distraught on the field and were comforted by staff members as well as Inter players. Several were openly sobbing before the teams filed off the field.

The Italian league match was immediately halted, before being abandoned. The score at the time of Bove's collapse was 0-0.

Many at Fiorentina — as well as the fans — remember former captain Davide Astori, who was found dead in his hotel room in March 2018 before a match in Udine.

It is the second incident this year of a player collapsing during a Serie A match. It happened to Roma defender Evan Ndicka during his team's match at Udinese in April.

Bove is a product of the Roma youth academy and joined Fiorentina on loan in the offseason with the option to make the move permanent.

Romelu Lukaku, who spent last season at Roma with Bove, posted a photo of the pair during a match and added the caption: “I love you lil bro. We are all with you.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is transported to a waiting ambulance during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed as the injures appeared to be serious. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Emotional players comfort each others as Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is taken to hospital during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

An ambulance enters the field as Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is surrounded by players during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed as the injures appeared to be serious. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

An ambulance enters the field as Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is surrounded by players during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed as the injures appeared to be serious. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Emotional players comfort each other as Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is taken to hospital during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024. The match was suspended and finally postponed. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Fiorentina's Edoardo Bove, injured, is surrounded by players during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Inter at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Dec. 1, 2024 (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is stepping down after nearly four years in the top spot of the automaker, which owns car brands like Jeep and Ram, amid an ongoing struggle with slumping sales.

The world’s fourth-largest carmaker announced that its board accepted Tavares' resignation on Sunday. He will leave his role as chief executive immediately.

Stellantis noted Sunday that the process to appoint a new, permanent CEO is “well under way.” In the meantime, the company says a new interim executive committee, led by chairman John Elkann, will be established.

As head of PSA Peugeot, Tavares took control of the Netherlands-based company in January 2021 — when it merged with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Its North American operations had been the company’s main source of profits, but Stellantis has struggled this year amid larger market changes.

Stellantis posted 27% plunge in net revenues for its third quarter earlier this year as gaps in launching new products and action to reduce inventories also slashed global shipments of new vehicles by 20%.

The carmaker reported net revenues of 33 billion euros (nearly $36 billion ) in the three-month period ending Sept. 30, down from 45 billion euros in the same period a year earlier. All regions except South America reported double-digit dips in revenues — led by North America, which plunged 42% to 12.4 billion euros. Europe revenues dropped 12% to 12.5 billion euros.

In recent months, Tavares had been under fire from U.S. dealers and the United Auto Workers union after dismal financial performance reports.

Beyond the U.S., lawmakers in Italy questioned the former chief executive over the company's production plans back in October — as the country's far-right government accused the company of relocating assembly plants to low-cost countries.

In efforts to revive sales, Stellantis previously made a number of leadership changes in October. At the time, the company expected Tavares to step down in early 2026, closer to the end of his five-year contract.

Beyond Jeep and Ram, Stellantis' portfolio also includes brands such as Chrysler, Dodge, and Citroën.

This Oct. 1, 2014 photo shows Jeep and Dodge Ram logos on signs at a dealership in Haverhill, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, file)

FILE - CEO Stellantis Carlos Tavares speaks during the Paris Automotive Summit on the sideline of the Paris Auto Show, in Paris, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, file)