Former Tunisian Footballer Bayrem Daouadi Found Stabbed to Death in Rome

Former Tunisian football player Bayrem Daouadi was found dead this week on a street in Rome bearing stab wounds to his chest and neck, prompting an Italian police murder investigation. Italian media reported that investigators are examining suspicions that the young man was killed in connection with a drug trafficking dispute in the eastern part of the Italian capital. The prominent Tunisian club Espérance expressed condolences over his death.

Investigation and Details

According to reports in Tunisia, Daouadi was born in 2008 and was 18 years old at the time of his death, having previously played for Espérance, one of Africa's most decorated clubs. Italian media, however, reported he was 20 years old, while the circumstances surrounding his arrival in Rome and his presence there remain unclear. His body was discovered near a railway station in eastern Rome after a passerby alerted authorities.

The police successfully identified him through fingerprints, as he was found without identification documents or a mobile phone, and are now working to reconstruct his final hours.

Police Focus and Reactions

Italian public broadcaster RAI reported that police are focusing on whether the murder is linked to turf wars over drug trafficking in eastern Rome. Daouadi, who had no fixed address, was reportedly detained about a month prior to his death after police found several doses of cocaine in his possession. Former Tunisian parliamentarian Majdi Karbai addressed the incident on social media, clarifying that a viral video depicting an attack in an alleyway is unrelated to Daouadi's death, which has deeply shocked the Tunisian community.