Football icon ‘fights bouncers’ after Diego Maradona’s ex ‘grabbed in nightclub’
A footballer was booted out of a nightclub for reportedly fighting bouncers after his girlfriend – Diego Maradona’s ex – was allegedly harassed by staff
Néstor Ortigoza was kicked out of the club
A former top-flight footballer was thrown out of a nightclub after he was allegedly involved in a violent brawl with security staff.
Footage shows a chaotic melee break out while a live band are performing inside the venue, as Nestor Ortigoza can be seen seemingly throwing punches at bouncers. The confrontation ended with Ortigoza – a Paraguay legend who starred in the 2010 World Cup – being restrained by several bouncers and forcibly removed from the club.
Ortigoza, who played most of his career as a midfielder for Argentina giants Argentinos Juniors and San Lorenzo, had been at the club with his girlfriend, Rocio Oliva, the former fiancee of the late, great Argentina icon Diego Maradona, and her pal. The trouble reportedly started when Rocio and her friend were allegedly harassed by security staff.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Ortigoza, 41, stepped in, and the argument quickly escalated into a physical confrontation. During the struggle, one security guard could be seen putting him in a headlock from behind, while others pointed laser sights towards him.
It reportedly took five people to eject the retired Paraguay international from the venue last weekend. The former midfielder later told local media that he reacted after security staff provoked him and were allegedly mistreating people in his group.
Argentine showbiz journalist Débora D’Amato, who was contacted by Rocío, 35, to relay her account, said: “What she told me is that it all happened because, at one point, some members of the security staff grabbed her by the neck.
“And part of what happened drove Néstor Ortigoza crazy, and he reacted to the situation.”
Oliva is reportedly considering legal action against the nightclub in El Talar, Argentina, while the venue’s management is also weighing potential legal steps against Ortigoza.
Maradona, who died in 2020, fell head over heels for Oliva – an ex-professional women’s footballer for numerous clubs in Argentina who was 30 years his junior – when they met in 2012.
In 2014 they got engaged, but they broke up in 2018, when he reportedly kicked her out of the house he bought for her following a series of blazing rows.
It is not the first time 2014 Copa Libertadores winner Ortigoza has made headlines for off-field issues, as reported by NeedToKnow. In 2024, a former partner accused him of breaching a restraining order amid a gender-based violence case.
Ortigoza was born in San Antonio de Padua, Argentina, but opted to represent Paraguay after acquiring citizenship through his father in 2009.
He was part of the Paraguay squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, knocking out Japan before losing to Spain.
Ortigoza also reached the final of the 2011 Copa América, defeating Brazil and Venezuela along the way before falling to Uruguay. The club he made the most appearances for was San Lorenzo, one of Argentina’s “big five”.
He played there from 2011 to 2017, with a short spell at Emirates Club in the UAE from 2012 to 2013, before returning in 2021 to fulfil his promise of retiring at the club. He officially retired in 2022.
Ortigoza is regarded as one of South American football’s most reliable penalty takers, converting 58 of 62 spot-kicks during his career, including a run of 20 consecutive penalties between 2007 and 2012.
He developed that composure in informal late-night penalty shootouts in the suburbs of Greater Buenos Aires, where players would stake small sums of money just to get by.
