ROME — Members of Rome’s Foreign Press Football Club have paid tribute to their colleague Arman Soldin, who was killed in Ukraine last month at the age of 32, with a match staged in his honour. Soldin, who was video coordinator for AFP in Ukraine, had been a popular member of the club as well as one of its better players. He was killed by a rocket on May 9 while reporting from near the besieged city of Bakhmut.

 The club staged a five-a-side match in his memory, followed by pizza and beer, for the kind of social event in which Arman was always a lively participant.

 An infant of two-years-old when civil war tore apart his native city of Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, Soldin had been reporting on the conflict in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

 Fabrice Fries, the chairman of AFP, said emotion had not subsided since the announcement of Arman’s death. “I even have the feeling it has grown as we all become aware of Arman’s extremely endearing and sunny personality,” he said.

Among those paying tribute to the charming and courageous reporter was the footballer Edin Dzeko. “Arman was a man who fought for truth and justice in this world,” the Inter Milan striker said.

 “His life’s work will forever stay in our memory and our hearts. Be proud of him for everything he has done,” the professional football player, also from Bosnia, said in a message on social media.

 France’s culture minister also offered words of appreciation for his quirky and uplifting character. “Arman had the rare ability to find moments of life and even poetry amid the horror,” Rima Abdul Malak said at a ceremony in his honour at AFP’s Paris headquarters.

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