By Humberto Viera
26 Jul 2024, 12:33 PM EDT
Although the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have not officially started, there have already been incidents that call into question the safety of the event. Now, in another act of vandalism, former footballer Arthur Antunes Coimbra, known as ‘Zico’, was the unfortunate victim.
Zico, a former player for Flamengo in Brazil, Udinese in Italy and Kashima Antlers in Japan, as well as an international figure with the Brazilian national team, was the star guest of his country’s delegation. However, he did not expect what would happen to him in the taxi that was transporting him through Paris, as revealed by LeParisien.
The robbery, valued at half a million euros, occurred at around 7:00 PM (local time) on Thursday, July 25, when the former footballer left his hotel in the 19th arrondissement of Paris in a taxi.
Zico placed a briefcase in the back of the car, which an individual took advantage of to divert the taxi driver’s attention and steal the briefcase. The contents of the briefcase, which included a Rolex watch, a diamond bracelet and 2,000 euros in cash ($2,172), were valued at half a million euros ($543,210), according to the same French media.
This robbery of Zico follows the theft of jewellery and accessories from footballers during the Morocco-Argentina match and the theft of equipment belonging to the Australian cycling team from their van.
Argentine football coach Javier Mascherano revealed after the match against Morocco that the Argentine national team had been the victim of a robbery before the match. The player affected was Thiago Almada. According to French media outlet BFMTV, Almada was robbed of jewellery worth around 50,000 euros, including a ring and a watch.
A robbery also affected a group of Australian athletes at the Olympic Games. The Australian BMX delegation shared a video denouncing the terrible moment they experienced in Paris, prior to the Games. The cyclists showed that their van had a broken window and that several items necessary for competing had been stolen.
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