Claudio Luciano Ricardo Callegari (19 October 1962 – 29 March 2021) was an English

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

supporter and a contributor to the football

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel AFTV. He made his first appearance in 2012 before becoming a regular until 2020. He died on 29 March 2021.

AFTV

Callegari was a contributor to AFTV (originally called ArsenalFanTV), a football fan YouTube channel made by Arsenal supporters. He made his first appearance on the channel in 2012. A critic of the Arsenal manager

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...

, he was known for the phrase "it's time to go" (referring to Wenger and later

Unai Emery Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Aston Villa. After a career spent playing mostly in Spain's Segunda División, Emery transitioned into coa ...

) that he used in his interview videos. He then became a regular on the channel, offering his opinions. Robbie Lyle, the creator of AFTV, spoke highly of Callegari as someone who "cares deeply about the club", also stating that "he's had some issues, but hat he'sa real character". He was regarded as a cult hero in English football by football fans for speeches he gave in support of Arsenal. In 2016, he went missing from his home in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. However, a few days later he contacted his wife, resulting in

Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harri ...

no longer considering him a missing person. Callegari later explained that mental health issues led to his disappearance. In July 2020, Callegari was indefinitely removed from AFTV after an appearance on a

North London derby The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main rivals, and the derby is co ...

"watch-along" stream, where he appeared to refer to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

player

Son Heung-min Son Heung-min ( ko, 손흥민; ; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the South Korea national team. Considered one of the best forwards i ...

as "DVD", a racial slur against East Asians. Callegari responded by claiming he had actually said "another DVD is coming out", referring to a long-running joke that Tottenham make many commemorative DVDs for every big victory, but Lyle removed him from AFTV and apologised for AFTV not acting upon it. Callegari agreed to attend an education programme as a result. Even though he no longer appeared on the channel, AFTV continued to privately support Callegari.

Personal life and death

Outside of AFTV, Callegari worked as a taxi driver and had a daughter. Callegari died on 29 March 2021, aged 58. Former Arsenal player

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

paid tribute to him, as did Arsenal. His family later confirmed that he had died of natural causes. He was cremated in May 2021, and his ashes were interred in Italy, alongside his mother, who died in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Callegari, Claude 1962 births 2010s missing person cases 2021 deaths Association football supporters British podcasters British taxi drivers English people of Italian descent English YouTubers Formerly missing people People from the London Borough of Islington Missing person cases in England

AFTV

Personal life and death

See also

References