Claudio Callegari, known as 'Claude,' died at the age of 58. He was a regular on Arsenal Fan TV. As part of Arsenal Fan TV, Claude was a well-liked presenter who acquired a large following among Arsenal supporters.
A statement read: "We can't believe we are writing this, with permission from Claude's father, it is with great sadness and a broken heart that we have to announce that our dear friend and legend Claude sadly passed away yesterday afternoon 29th March,We ask that you please respect the privacy of Claude, his family and friends and be respectful at this extremely sad time.RIP dear friend, gone but never be forgotten. Gooner for life."
As Arsenal fans learned of Claude's death, they paid tribute to him on social media, sending well wishes to his family and friends.
Kevin Campbell sadly stated: "Deepest condolences to Claude’s Father and family. I honestly am shocked and can’t believe it!"
One Twitter user said: "I’m so sorry to hear this & I hope you Claude’s family are getting all the support they need. Claude was a great man & a passionate Arsenal fan - he will be missed by many."
Another posted: "Really sad to hear this. Sending love and peace."
A fourth tweeted: "When it comes to passionate football supporters, Claude was the epitome of one. He was the best thing about AFTV - the show wasn't the same after his departure."Another wrote: "Such sad news. Throughout the years of going to games, I’d always see him with Tye, Robbie & co - such a lovely guy who will be missed."
Claude used to be a taxi driver, but he rose to fame on Arsenal Fan TV, which has over one million YouTube subscribers and 800 million total views.He was suspended "indefinitely" from the popular show in July 2020 after making a racist comment about Son Heung-min.Robbie Lyle, who created the channel in 2012, was forced to apologise for the incident after a backlash from fans.“I would like to sincerely apologise for the derogatory remark heard on the AFTV livestream on Sunday, and for the response video that we put out today where we failed to apologise and take onus for the comment,” Lyle said.He added"As a channel that has millions of viewers around the world, I fully recognise the power that comments made by myself or people on our platform have, and it is paramount that we do not allow comments of this nature to be made in any form.As such, it is only appropriate that Claude is removed from the channel indefinitely.In no way do I or AFTV condone racism of any kind and it is important we take appropriate action in line with the comment made.”
Have a look at the compilation that fans tweeted at their twitter handle.