Greece have reportedly been denied a request to have tonight’s match against England at Wembley postponed following the tragic death of George Baldock.
News broke on Wednesday evening that the 31-year-old footballer had been found dead in the swimming pool at his home in Athens.
“We can confirm that George has sadly passed away,” a family statement said. “As a family we are in shock at this terrible loss.”
An intial coroner’s findings suggest he drowned and police are said to have ruled out any criminal activity.
George Baldock, second-left bottom row, has died aged 31
GETTY
Baldock was born in England but represented Greece at international level, who he qualified for through his grandmother.
The defender was capped 12 times by Greece and last played for the country in March this year.
He wasn’t called up by Ivan Jovanovic for this month’s international break with Greece playing England and the Republic of Ireland.
But Greek media claim the Hellenic Football Federation reached out to UEFA to try and get the match against England postponed following the tragic news of Baldock’s death.
Greece are said to have highlighted that Baldock was still an active player for the national side and two of his current Panathinaikos team-mates are part of the current squad.
But their request to have the game postponed was rejected by the UEFA due to a lack of available dates.
“After repeated contacts with the highest levels of UEFA since last night regarding tonight’s match, there was no room for postponing it,” the Greek FA said.
Tonight’s match at Wembley will go ahead as planned, but there will be a minute’s silence before the game.
George Baldock signed for Panathinaikos in the summerInstagram
Players from both teams will also wear black armbands while there will be a tribute for Kick It Out founder Lord Herman, who passed away earlier this month.
A statement from the Football Association read: “At the request of Greece, there will be a period of silence and both teams will wear black armbands at Wembley Stadium this evening to mark the sudden passing of George Baldock.”
Baldock’s wife, who lives in England, was the one who raised the alarm for his well-being after being unable to contact him over phone.
George Baldock was capped 12 times by Greece
PA
She is said to have contacted the owner of the property, who went to check the house and found Baldock unresponsive.
Baldock started his professional career with MK Dons in 2009 and had loan spells with Northampton and Oxford United before joining Sheffield United in 2017.
He made 219 appearances for the Blades over seven years and twice helped them earn promotion to the Premier League.