Argentine Football Fan Jailed Over Threats Against Angel Di Maria, Family
An Argentine court has sentenced a football supporter to prison for threatening football star Angel Di Maria and his family in 2024, following a disturbing intimidation campaign.
Sergio Di Vanni, 45, was convicted by a court in Rosario on Wednesday for orchestrating threats against the family to discourage the former Argentina international from returning home.
The intimidation was reportedly aimed at preventing Di Maria from leaving Europe to rejoin Rosario Central, his boyhood club and a fierce rival of Newell’s Old Boys.
In March 2024, Di Maria was playing for Portuguese side Benfica but was considering returning to Argentina to continue his football career at Rosario Central.
The threats included gunshots fired near a gated community where the footballer owns property and a disturbing incident involving an estate agency operated by his sister.
According to prosecutors, a pig’s head bearing a bullet wound was dumped outside the agency, accompanied by a threatening message directed at Di Maria’s daughter.
Another suspect, 25-year-old Belen Gutierrez, received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence in June after reaching a plea agreement over her alleged involvement in the intimidation campaign.
A third suspect remains in pre-trial detention, while prosecutors alleged that those involved received four million Argentine pesos, equivalent to approximately $2,600, to carry out the threats.
Investigators linked the intimidation campaign to an internal power struggle within Newell’s Old Boys’ supporters’ group, amid the fierce rivalry between Rosario’s two major football clubs.
Di Vanni’s sentence also covers separate offences connected to his involvement with the supporters’ group, according to details presented during the court proceedings.
The rivalry between Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys remains one of Argentina’s fiercest, with the latter being the childhood club of football legend Lionel Messi.
Following the threats, Di Maria initially abandoned his plans to return to Argentina, citing concerns for his family’s safety amid the disturbing incidents.
However, the 38-year-old eventually returned to Rosario Central in 2025 and helped the club win the Argentine title at the end of that year.
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