A police dossier revealed terrifying World Cup threats, including an alleged suicide bomb plot against Lionel Messi and thousands of death threats sent to a referee
Football icon Lionel Messi was the prime target of a chilling World Cup terror plot involving suicide bombers. A police dossier details a terrifying series of threats aimed at football’s biggest stars and officials throughout last month’s epic tournament.
In one horrifying incident, a fanatic allegedly vowed to blow up the Argentina superstar with a bomb vest during a match, saying: “I’m going to walk into the Atlanta stadium and blow up Messi with four bombs stuck in my body.”
The Argentine icon was identified as the most targeted player for threats during the competition, held in America, Mexico and Canada.
The report said rival superstar Cristiano Ronaldo faced non-stop harassment too from supposed fans and French referee Francois Letexier was inundated with more than 6,000 WhatsApp threats.
During the tournament, a joint security network led by the FBI and the IPCC (Centre for International Police Cooperation) tracked high-level terror alerts, stalkers and violent threats directed at both players and their families.
Spanish newspaper Informacion.es, which uncovered the police report, said the most concrete threat against Messi, 39, arose when a man called Dallas airport and announced that he and two others were heading to the city’s stadium with “homemade bombs and an AR-15,” a semi-automatic rifle.
In his message, he said that they intended to attack “police officers and players from both teams” but the alleged terrorist made “special mention of Lionel Messi,” according to the security report.
Another of Argentina’s matches, the one played on July 7 against Egypt, was also the subject of a threat investigated by the police command centre.
One user of the X social media site wrote: “I’m about to enter the Atlanta stadium and blow up Messi with four bombs stuck in my body.”
Several explosives specialists, canine handlers and their K-9 agents searched the Atlanta stadium in America after another man called police during the game and announced that he had left “three bombs” in litter bins in the stadium.
In terms of harassment, Cristiano Ronaldo was the most persecuted player. On June 14, a FIFA employee reported “a suspicious man” who was asking for “details” about the Portuguese footballer’s accommodation.
Houston police identified and arrested a man two days later when he was at the hotel where Ronaldo was staying with his national team. Another was arrested in Toronto (Canada) for a very similar incident when Ronaldo was there.
That time, the supporter tried to get into the lift with the Portuguese star when he was arrested. He said he just wanted to take a selfie with the strike ace.
Other incidents with Ronaldo occurred in Miami, when a man tried to gain access to him, and during the Portugal-Croatia match, when a man dressed in a Ronaldo shirt jumped onto the field.
The police dossier, according to the Spanish newspaper, says Messi and Ronaldo were threatened and harassed throughout the World Cup.
Several other players were singled out for incidents or mistakes they made in matches too. The most famous was French talisman Kylian Mbappe.
He starred in a tense scene with Paraguay’s goalkeeper after refusing to shake the defender’s hand after a tense game.
Shortly after, the Real Madrid player began to be insulted with “xenophobic” motives according to police reports. A Paraguayan senator even disliked it on the social network X.
A doll with Mbappe’s image “was burned and broadcast” on social networks in Paraguay on July 5 and 6, according to the daily reports of the police command. Players who made mistakes during matches were also threatened with death.
One of the most serious cases that the police reports collected was that of the Norwegian player Alexander Sorloth, of club team Atletico de Madrid, and his wife, after the striker missed a goalscoring opportunity.
Colombian player Jaminton Campaz was also threatened for missing a penalty. He was unable to return to his country with the rest of his teammates after the World Cup due to threats.
And the police reports also include threats against French defender Lucas Digne. A special case was that of coach Hong Myung-bo and the entire South Korean team, eliminated in the first round of the tournament.
All of them had to be “escorted by a large police device” to the airport after death threats were received against the entire national team.