By Joiner Martinez
25 Jul 2024, 17:37 PM EDT
Two members of the ‘barra brava’ (violent fans) of Newell’s Old Boys in the Argentine city of Rosario have been arrested, accused of having been involved in the threats received by the footballer Ángel Di María in March, when there was still speculation about his return to the club of his loves, Rosario Central, the other team in the city.
The detainees were identified as Alejandro Ficcadenti and Sergio Di Vanni, and according to local press, they were captured in the framework of an operation that included seven raids in which almost 20 million pesos (about 21,000 dollars) were seized.
Wednesday’s arrests follow the arrest, at the end of March, of two other suspects involved in the case, who are believed to have been directly responsible for the crime, while the two men arrested today are believed to have been its instigators.
The threats took place on March 25 in a residential area near Di María’s hometown of Rosario, when a vehicle threw a threatening message at the door of the home where the player’s relatives were staying.
This week, after the announcement on Saturday that ‘El Fideo’ would continue at Benfica in Portugal, Rosario Central president Gonzalo Belloso announced that the footballer’s decision not to return to the city was due to security issues.
“On Saturday afternoon he told me of his decision that he will not return to the club because he does not feel that there are any guarantees of safety for himself or his family,” Belloso said in a radio interview on Monday.
“We believe that it is the best time for him to come. He informed us after the threats that he began to doubt the possibility of coming, that he did not feel safe, and that he would make the decision after the Copa America,” he explained.
The 36-year-old former Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain player travelled to Argentina after winning the Copa América in the United States, which marked the end of his career in the Albiceleste jersey.
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