AS A SURE GUY, BEWARE OF OWN GOAL WITH YOUR PARTNER. After the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Escobar decided to return to Colombia instead of visiting relatives in Las Vegas, Nevada.[2] On the evening of July 1, 1994, five days after the elimination of Colombia from the World Cup, Escobar called his friends, and they went to a bar in the El Poblado neighbourhood in Medellín. Then they went to a liquor store. Shortly afterwards, they arrived at the El Indio nightclub. His friends split up. At approximately 3 a.m. the next morning, Escobar was alone in the parking lot of El Indio bar, in his car, when three men appeared. They began arguing with him. Two of the men took out handguns.[3] Escobar was shot six times. It was reported that the killer shouted ¡Gol! (imitating South American football commentators).[14] The killer shot Escobar with a .38 caliber pistol.[8] The group then took off in a Toyota pickup truck leaving Escobar to bleed to death. Escobar was rushed to the hospital where he died 45 minutes later.[3][15] The murder was widely believed to be a punishment for the infamous own goal.[16] It is not clear whether the murderer was connected to one of the gambling syndicates who had bet large amounts of money on Colombia to qualify for the second round. In the UK, the BBC issued a public apology after its football pundit Alan Hansen commented during the match between Argentina and Romania that the Argentine defender warrants shooting for a mistake like that, on July 3, a day after the murder of Escobar.[17] Escobars funeral was attended by over 120,000 people. Every year people honour Escobar by bringing photographs of him to matches. In July 2002, the city of Medellín unveiled a statue in honour of his memory.[18] Humberto Castro Muñoz, a bodyguard for members of a powerful Colombian cartel, was arrested on the night of 2 July 1994, confessing the next day to the killing of Escobar.[19] Muñoz also worked as a driver for Santiago Gallón, who allegedly bet heavily on the Colombian team and was upset at having lost.[20] He was found guilty of Escobars murder in June 1995. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to 26 years because of his submitting to the ruling penal code in 2001. Humberto was released on good behaviour due to further reductions from prison work and study in 2005 after serving approximately 11 years. His three accomplices were absolved
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:32:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015