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Greece forward Vangelis Pavlidis dedicates goal to George Baldock

Greece forward Vangelis Pavlidis dedicated his opening goal against England to late team-mate George Baldock on Thursday night. 

The striker pointed to the sky and held his black armband aloft in tribute to Baldock after putting Greece 1-0 up in the 49th minute at Wembley. 

His team-mates also ran over and held Baldock's shirt in the air to commemorate the 31-year-old the after his tragic death.

The former Sheffield United defender was found dead in the communal pool of his villa in Greece, with local media reporting that he had drowned.

Greek stars had also held up the shirt ahead of kick-off and a minute's silence was observed by both teams for the Buckinghamshire-born Greek international.  

Former Sheffield United defender George Baldock was found dead in his swimming pool in Greece on Wednesday, with reports claiming he had drowned 

The scene where former Sheffield United defender George Baldock was found dead in his swimming pool in Athens, Greece

Baldock made over 400 appearances in English football and spent seven seasons with Sheffield United until this summer, winning two promotions with the Blades.

He then traded England for Greece, signing up with Panathinaikos, and made four appearances with them.

Baldock had qualified to play for Greece through his grandmother and had earned 12 caps over the last couple of years. 

He was discovered after his partner back home in England had been unable to get hold of him for several hours, local newspapers report.

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

Police tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the 31-year-old former Premier League player but could not revive him and medical emergency units confirmed his death at the scene, one official told Reuters.

His family have said they are in total 'shock' over his death.

'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. 

More to follow.  

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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