JINAN - Police on Tuesday ruled out foul play in the death of a popular football commentator in an East China hotel room, an incident which has been much discussed on the Internet.

Tao Wei, who made his name commentating on German league games for state broadcaster CCTV, died in the early hours of Monday in a hotel in Jinan, according to the city's police, who added that there were no wounds on his body, and no signs of a struggle or a break-in.

A forensic test, however, found excessive alcohol content in Tao's blood, police said.

Tao, 34, was in Jinan on a visit to coastal Qingdao with friends. They went for dinner late on Sunday afternoon and returned to the hotel at 0:18 am on Monday. He was found dead by his friends in hotel room 1307 at 8:49 am, according to the police.

A friend of Tao said in a micro blog that he might have died of heart conditions. But police have not concluded on the cause of death.

CCTV will broadcast a gathering of Tao Wei's commentating on league games to remember the commentator in two of its sports channel (CCTV 5)'s golden time programs Total Soccer and Soccer Night.

Tao was not an employee but a guest commentator of the sports channel, said CCTV 5's cheif director Jiang Heping, "but we always consider him as one of our members."

Tao was once a professional football player. After quitting the game in 1996, he joined CCTV as a commentator. His popularity soared in recent years as more Chinese tuned in to live broadcasts of European league games.

The topics is trending on Sina Weibo, the country's largest micro-blogging site, with fans posting tens of thousands of messages of mourning.

"Rest in peace. Maybe a good commentator is needed in heaven and God picks you," netizen Shi Xiaojun said.

Tao's farewell ceremony will be held at the Babaoshan Cemetery in Beijing on Sept 2.