Argentina Court Jails Football Fan for 7½ Years Over Threats Against Angel Di Maria

An Argentine court has sentenced a football supporter to seven and a half years in prison for threatening the family of World Cup winner Angel Di Maria in an attempt to stop him from returning to Argentina to play for his boyhood club.

The court in Rosario found 45-year-old Sergio Di Vanni guilty of ordering acts of intimidation against Di Maria’s family in March 2024. Prosecutors said the threats were intended to discourage the former Argentina international from returning from abroad to play for Rosario Central.

At the time, Di Maria was playing for Portuguese club Benfica but was considering a return to Rosario Central, where he began his football career. He eventually rejoined the Argentine side in 2025.

Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys, the childhood club of Lionel Messi, are fierce local rivals in Rosario, making the proposed transfer a sensitive issue among sections of the city’s football supporters.

The threats reportedly included gunshots fired near a gated community where Di Maria owns a property. A pig’s head bearing a bullet wound was also dumped outside an estate agency operated by his sister, accompanied by a message threatening his daughter.

A second suspect, 25-year-old Belen Gutierrez, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in June after reaching a plea agreement. Prosecutors identified her as one of those involved in the intimidation campaign.

A third suspect remains in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors alleged that the threats were carried out in exchange for four million Argentine pesos, estimated in the report at $2,600.

According to the prosecution, the intimidation was connected to an internal power struggle within Newell’s Old Boys’ ultras, the club’s organised supporters. Di Vanni’s sentence also covered separate offences linked to his involvement in the supporters’ group.

The threats initially prompted Di Maria to abandon plans to return to Argentina because of concerns for his family’s safety. He later changed his decision and returned to Rosario Central, where he has continued his career.