Premier League

Former Premier League star, George Baldock drowned in his Athens swimming pool in Greece.

 

 

The ex-Sheffield United defender, 31, who recently joined Panathinaikos, was also dead for up to five hours before he was discovered.

 

 

Athens broadsheet Kathimerini claims that a post-mortem examination was completed in the Greek capital today and ‘drowning in water’ has been given as the cause of death by the medical examiner.

 

 

Toxicology tests taken during the autopsy including whether alcohol was present in his system when he died – will take ‘several days’ to come back, it was reported.

 

 

But police in Athens have told MailOnline they have already ruled out any criminal activity, including any burglary related to his sudden death at the age of 31 last night.

 

 

Mr Baldock was found unresponsive in his pool after his partner, who was in the UK, reportedly raised the alarm because he was not answering his phone. 

 

 

A spokesman for Greece’s Hellenic Police said: ‘A forensic pathologist was called to the scene and examined the body with no evidence of criminal activity.

 

 

‘The police searched the house to determine if there were any signs of a burglary with a negative result.

 

 

‘In addition, a specialized team of the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Police carried out a check on the house in order to rule out the possibility of criminal activity’.

 

 

A police source told state TV that Buckinghamshire-born George was dead for at least five hours before he was found on Wednesday night.

 

 

Athens broadsheet Kathimerini claims police are examining CCTV from the entrance of the house to ensure nobody visited the property in the hours before or after his death.

 

 

The owner of his luxury property apparently found him unresponsive in the pool. The emergency services were called and arrived in nine minutes, but he could not be revived. 

 

His family have said they are in total ‘shock’ over his death. Despite being born in Buckinghamshire, he played for Greece 12 times after qualifying to represent the country through his grandmother. 

 

 

‘We can confirm that George has sadly passed away. As a family, we are in shock at this terrible loss. We ask please that the media respect our privacy at this time,’ his family said in a statement late last night. 

 

 

George would have likely played for his country at Wembley against England tonight but was currently injured. Greece has asked UEFA for permission for both teams to wear black armbands for the Nations League fixture at 7.45pm.