Today in football!!
Andres Escobar was shot to death in his country Colombia after his own goal destroyed their 1994 world cup hopes.
Escobar’s own goal came in a 2-1 loss to the US, and it is thought that members of a powerful drug cartel had large amounts of money riding on the game.
The team’s failure caused a backlash at home, but Escobar ignored friends who told him to lie low until it had died down, saying: “I must show my face to my people.”
Five days after the early exit, he was murdered while sitting in his car outside a nightclub in the Colombian city of Medellín.
He was shot six times, and it was later reported that his killers shouted “Goal!” with each shot, one for each time the match’s commentator had shouted the word as the goal was broadcast.
Escobar’s murder tarnished the image of Colombia internationally. Escobar himself had worked to promote a more positive image of Colombia, his clean style of play and calmness on the pitch earned him the nickname “El Caballero del fùtbol” which means the gentleman of football, earning acclaim within the country.
Humberto Castro Muñoz, a bodyguard for the drug barons thought to have lost money, was arrested the next day and confessed to the murder.
An estimated 120,000 people attended Escobar’s funeral, and the anniversary of his death is still marked at matches in Colombia each year…
May his soul continue RIP 🌹🙏
