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One week after Colombia was eliminated from the World Cup in Vancouver, the whereabouts of one of the team’s key players remains a mystery.
In the final minutes of a tied July 7 match at B.C. Place, Colombian midfielder Jaminton Campaz found himself with a clear shot on the Swiss netminder that could have delivered his team the game.
His shot sailed high over the net, and Switzerland went on to win in a penalty shootout.
Campaz reportedly did not join his teammates on their return flight home, and local media have since said he hasn’t returned to the country due to death threats.
Bob Lenarduzzi, a former coach and player for Canada’s Men’s National Team said the incident echoed a dark chapter in Colombia’s World Cup history.
“He’s got a real living example of what can happen and it’s very, very sad, and disgusting that that can be the case,” he said.
In 1994, Colombian player Andres Escobar accidentally scored an own-goal in a loss against the host U.S. team.
Ten days later, Escobar was gunned down in a parking lot outside a bar in Medellin.
“They lose a soccer game and he scores an own goal and he gets shot to death — crazy,” Lenarduzzi said.
A drug cartel driver and bodyguard was ultimately convicted, amid allegations his employers had lost money betting on the game.
Joshua Nadel, a history professor at North Carolina Central University, said Colombia was wracked by drug violence and civil war in the 1990s.
He said the threats were dismaying given the progress the country has made since.
“Colombia was in a really different place as a society as it from where it is now,” he said.
“So to hear about this, it obviously harkens back to then, and also is really disheartening in a lot of ways because it shows perhaps how little or that maybe a little has changed.”
Campaz hasn’t posted on social media since Thursday, two days after the loss to Switzerland.
“To the entire country, I can only say that I share the pain of this elimination,” he wrote in Spanish on Instagram.
“I deeply regret not being able to bring you the joy we all hoped for, but I want you to know that there was never a lack of dedication, commitment, or love for this jersey.”
He went on to ask his countrymates to “never lose sight of respect.”
“We may hold different views or feel frustration and sadness, but no passion justifies hatred or living in fear,” he wrote.
The Colombian Football Federation has issued a statement condemning “threats made against the life and safety” of the midfielder and his family.
The federation has further called on the country’s attorney general to urgently investigate and prosecute anyone making threats.
“Football should be a space for unity, respect, and hope—never a venue for hatred, intimidation, or violence,” the federation stated.
Campaz’s professional team — Argentina’s Rosario Central — took to social media to say it looks forward to having him back with the club.
Lenarduzzi, meanwhile, said he hopes fans come to terms with the fact that players are human and make mistakes.
“[Mistakes happen] in the game, but to assume your life can be a risk from playing in a game?” he said.
“My hope is that he is getting a lot of protection and that over time, ideally, it subsides.”
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