Fan Jailed for Threatening Di Maria’s Family Over Rosario Central Return
An Argentine court has sentenced a 45-year-old football supporter, Sergio Di Vanni, to seven and a half years in prison for orchestrating threats against the family of World Cup winner Angel Di Maria in an attempt to prevent the forward from returning to his home country to play for Rosario Central. The court in Rosario found Di Vanni guilty of organising intimidation in March 2024, when Di Maria was still playing for Benfica and considering a return to his boyhood club. The threats reportedly included gunshots fired near a gated community where the footballer owns a property, as well as a pig’s head bearing a bullet wound left outside an estate agency operated by his sister. A message threatening Di Maria’s daughter was also reportedly found at the scene. Prosecutors said the intimidation campaign was connected to a power struggle within the supporters’ ranks of Newell’s Old Boys, Rosario Central’s fierce local rivals. A 25-year-old woman, Belen Gutierrez, previously received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence in June after reaching a plea agreement. Another suspect remains in pre-trial detention.
Prosecutors alleged that the perpetrators received four million Argentine pesos, equivalent to about 2,600 dollars at the time, to carry out the threats. The campaign initially forced Di Maria to abandon his plans to return to Argentina, citing concerns for his family’s safety. However, the former Argentina international eventually changed his mind and joined Rosario Central in 2025. Now 38, Di Maria has since helped the club secure the Argentine title at the end of 2025, marking a successful return despite the earlier intimidation. Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys are the city’s two major football clubs and have a longstanding rivalry, with Newell’s also being the childhood club of Lionel Messi. Di Vanni’s prison term includes separate offences connected to his involvement in the supporters’ group. The case has drawn attention to the darker side of football rivalries, where attempts to influence players’ decisions can extend beyond the pitch and threaten the safety of their families.
#UTVAfrica#
