News of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota's death shattered the sports world early Thursday morning, eliciting an emotional outpouring of support for the Portuguese star.
Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother, André Silva, died in a car accident in Spain when they veered off a road, possibly due to a blown tire. Jota's death comes just weeks after he married his long-term girlfriend, Rute Cardoso, with whom he shares three sons. The Premier League star has scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool, and has won one Premier League title and FA Cup in his five years at the club.
In the wake of the tragedy, Wimbledon organizers are reportedly allowing players to break a centuries-old dress code during competition. Players are traditionally required to wear all-white attire on the court, but they will now be allowed to sport a black armband to pay tribute to Jota.
Portuguese doubles player Francisco Cabral is among those planning to wear the black armband in his next match.
"The guy is a big name, not just in Portugal but in the world," Cabral said, via The Mirror. "He was a great human being with a nice family and three kids. My best wishes to them all. For his family, it is very tough to recover from that."
"I couldn't get one in time today, but I want to in the next one," Cabral said of an armband.
Cabral and his Austrian partner, Lucas Miedler, beat Jamie Murray and Rajeev Ram in their first-round doubles match (7-6, 6-3). Cabral and Miedler will face Czech's Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl in the second round on Friday.
More Wimbledon on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Wimbledon Players Allowed to Break Dress Code to Pay Tribute to Liverpool’s Diogo Jota.
