CF Montréal assistant coach Jason Di Tullio passed away Thursday at the age of 38 following a battle with cancer, the club announced Friday.
In accordance with his last wishes, a private ceremony will be held. The club will pay tribute to Di Tullio in the coming days, beginning with Saturday’s match at Stade Saputo against New York City FC (7:30 pm ET).
“It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of our colleague, teammate, and friend, who left us far too soon. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones,” CF Montréal president and CEO Gabriel Gervais said in a statement.
“Jason was a great player and a great man. His energy was ever-present until his final moments. He himself symbolically compared his battle to a soccer game. Jason was extremely brave and fought until the end. He will forever be remembered in our minds and the memory of the club as an iconic player and mentor.”
Born in Montréal, Di Tullio established himself as a key club figure as a player and a coach. He began his professional career with the Montréal Impact in 2002 while the team competed in USL. He played 81 times for the club, starting 60 times while scoring one goal and registering four assists in 5,611 total minutes.
Di Tullio played for the U-20 Canada national team during the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championships, helping his country reach the second round for just the second time in program history.
As a coach, Di Tullio served as an assistant coach with the club's first team from 2015-17 and then again beginning in 2021. He also served as an academy head coach from 2011-15 and then again from 2019-21.
